The Meaning of Family
by RADyo
Summary: When Percy and Nico are taken into the foster system, they are adopted by the most unlikely candidates. Tony and Pepper. While Tony isn't thrilled, he is willing to put up with the moody boys. But there is a problem. After accident that killed his parents, Percy changed, and his friends can only do so much. Can they get him to the Percy they used to know?
1. Chapter 1: Fostering

Percy yawned as he rode in the back of the car. His cousin Nico sat beside him. Both were sullen. The man in the front seat of the car looked at them in the rear view mirror. He sighed. He had short brown hair and wore sunglasses. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt. A brown jacket sat on the seat beside him.

"Boys, look, if you answer the questions that you're going to be asked when we arrive, it'll go much smoother. We can get you out of there and find you nice homes and then you can go on with your lives," he said. Percy glared murderously at the mirror, but it was only halfheartedly. He dropped his glare after a few seconds, choosing to stare at the floor of the car brokenly instead. His shoulders were slouched, his hands in his lap. His bright green eyes were dimmed and broken. His cousin beside him sat there, uncomfortable.

"Why are we even going there?" the younger boy asked, glaring at the man. His anger was barely contained and controlled.

"Because," the man sighed. "Before we can put you in the Foster System the Social Security has a few questions for the two of you. Percy, was it? They would like to talk to you first, seeing as you're the older one." The older boy didn't reply, choosing instead to stare at the ground. He barely moved, his finger twitching the only sign of his ADHD. Nico, on the other hand, shifted constantly, but his glare never faltered. The man in the driver's seat shuddered and went back to driving.

When they pulled up to the building, it looked like any other business building. It was in New York, seeing as how that's were the two of them had been found. The building was white and tall. Neither Percy nor Nico really cared to memorize, or even glance, at how it looked, since neither of them wanted to be there. Nico wore his usual black jeans, black shirt, black aviators jacket and skull ring. Percy wore jeans, a teal t-shirt and white high tops. His camp necklace hung from his neck limply. Riptide sat in his hands in pen form. A knapsack was over his shoulder. The boys followed the man inside. Their guide motioned for them to sit. The boys did so. Nico glanced over at his cousin worriedly. Percy sat there, shoulders slouched, staring at the pen as he turned it in his hands. His once lively green eyes had lost their usual glint.

Not for the first time since they had been caught, Nico felt a clawed hand of fear and worry grip his heart. He couldn't wait until he got a phone to call Thalia or Annabeth. They would snap Percy out of it. At least, he hoped they would.

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Tony yawned as he walked out of the elevator of his tower.

"Tony," Pepper began with a smile. "You know how we've been thinking about kids?" Tony gulped, but nodded.

"Well, I've decided that we should adopt for a little while! You know, older kids until we're ready to handle little children," she finished. He stared at her for a few moments.

"Wait, what?" he asked finally.

Pepper sighed. "I think that we should foster or adopt some children, you know teenagers or something, until we're ready to have children of our own. Then we don't have to get anymore."

"Uh... Sure, Pep, whatever you want," Tony agreed.

"But I get to help pick the kid."

"Of course! We both do," she assured him. "Now let's head over for that interview with... Tina Whiles I think her name is. That woman who wanted to interview you about whether you and I were really going to foster a child. She wants to do it with a Foster Care facility in the background, make it seem more emotional and all." Tony nodded blankly, still shocked about the adoption/fostering thing. He blinked.

"Wait, what? Who wants what again?"

"Tina Whiles, a reporter wants an interview with you at the Foster System facility downtown. Hurry and get dressed. Your interview starts in half-an-hour. It'll take us at least twenty minutes to get down there."

Tony smirked and nodded. He scampered off. By the time twenty five minutes rolled around, they were standing outside the facility. Tony and Pepper straightened their clothes and walked inside. Tony was instantly swamped by interviewers and camera men.

Pepper stepped back for a minute and looked around. The facility was nice. It had tall ceilings, decent quality fake marble flooring, white walls. It looked a little plain, but still nice. She was looking around when she noticed the two boys sitting in the corner.

One was hunched over. His shoulders shook with sobs, but she couldn't hear any noise. He had black hair that fell down, covering anything that she might have seen of his face otherwise. He wore a teal t-shirt, jeans and white high tops. A leather necklace with clay beads was looped around his neck. He clutched a cheap ballpoint pen in his hands as if it were important.

The boy next to him looked concerned. He had dark eyes, and black hair. He looked to be about three or four years younger than the boy next to him. His skin was slightly olive, like he had Italian heritage on at least one side of his family. He wore black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black aviator's jacket. A silver skull ring sparkled on his finger.

His lips moved as he spoke to the older boy beside him. He set a hand down on the boy's arm hesitantly. The older boy instantly gripped his hand and clutched it, like his friend would vanish if he let go. He buried his head into the younger child's shoulder, his shoulders shaking harder. The other boy blinked, surprised. He frowned nervously as he wrapped his arms around the older boy's shoulders in an awkward hug. The boy glanced around the room, looking for something.

When his eyes settled on Pepper, she saw a broken, desperate, fearful look in them for a second before that hardened into a defensive glare. His face almost dared her to comment on the scene before her. She smiled kindly at him, making him look away. He chose to glare at the ground instead. Pepper walked towards them. The older boy pulled back from his friend, wiping his face on his sleeve and rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry," she heard him tell the other boy. His friend tried for a smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know what it's like." The boy looked at the ground, looking guilty. The younger boy's eyes flashed with panic.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault!"

"Yeah it was! I shouldn't have let her go. And now she's gone." There was a pause before he continued, "I shouldn't have let either of them go." He put his head in his hands. The olive skinned boy ran one hand through his hair in both frustration and anxiety.

"Look, when I blamed you I was a dumb kid. I didn't have the full story. I don't blame you! She made her own choices. You had nothing to do with it," he insisted. Pepper frowned for a moment, pausing as she heard them talk. Then she shook her head and put on a smile. She walked towards them, letting her footsteps alert the boys of her presence. The younger turned to look at her. His friend continued to slouch and ignore her.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "My name's Pepper, what's yours?" The boys didn't reply. The younger one eyed her critically.

"Does it matter?" he asked finally. His voice was filled with venom, but an under tone of grief made it apparent that he was only being protective.

Pepper resisted a sigh of relief. "Well, I told you my name. Why don't you tell me yours?"

" 'Cause I don't want to," he replied.

Pepper chuckled. "How long have you been sitting here?" she asked instead.

"A couple minutes," he replied with a shrug. Pepper noticed he kept a close eye on his friend, as if searching for any signs of something. "You just got here," the boy said when she opened her mouth.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Cause you came in with him," A nod of his head indicated Tony. "And that's when all the noise started." She chuckled once again.

"Yeah, he has a tendency to start up a fuss wherever he goes," she agreed. The boy rolled his eyes.

" 'A fuss.' That's one way of putting it." He studied her critically for a moment before offering his hand. "I'm Nico." Pepper smiled as she shook his hand.

"I already told you, but I'm Pepper. That's Tony," she added, nodding in the billionaire's direction. They were just starting to talk in a friendly manner when a man walked up. He was tall and slightly muscular, nothing spectacular. He had brown hair and wore shades. He wore a black t-shirt, a brown jacket, and jeans.

"Percy? They're ready for you," he said kindly, looking at the older boy. Pepper noted his name and felt a pang when he stood up, his moves emotionless. Nico frowned angrily as he stood up quickly, standing by his friend, Percy.

"He doesn't go anywhere without me," he said firmly. The man sighed, as if he were an annoying student who wouldn't follow instructions.

"They'll talk to you next Nico. They want to talk to Percy here first."

"They can talk to us both at the same time, or not at all," he growled.

"That's not how it works," the man replied.

"Then how does it work?! All you've said since we've got here is how they want to ask us questions, but you won't say what about, you won't say why we had to be brought here, you haven't even offered us a damn phone to call any friends or family we may have!" he snapped, blocking the man from coming any closer to his friend.

"Nico, don't do this. Just let Percy come and talk to the social workers, then you can talk to them. Then we can find you guys nice homes and-"

"Homes?" Percy interrupted. Pepper noticed the worry and surprise in the boy's voice. It was the first time he'd spoken since she had come up. "As in plural?" he finished.

Nico's eyes widened with anger. "You're gonna split us up?! No way! I won't go!" There was an unfinished, yet implied _"he's all I have left" _hanging in the air. Pepper could practically hear him say it.

"You won't have to," Pepper interrupted. The boys looked at her as she stepped forward. "Tony and I would be happy to foster them," she told the man loftily. Nico and Percy's eyes widened.

"What?" they asked.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Tower

**AN: Hey guys! Yeah, totally forgot to put an Author's Note in the first chapter, but oh well. I got on this afternoon to see if anyone had read my fic and, OH MY GOSH! There were three review, six favs and nine follows! You guys are amazing! I don't have a beta for this, so any mistakes you see is totally my fault. Please feel free to point out anything that seems off to me in a review. I also haven't seen the Iron Man movies, so I'm just going off the Avengers for Tony's personality, so he may seem a little ooc.**

**Disclaimer: I totally don't own PJO or Avengers. Otherwise, they would've met by now. And Percy and Annabeth would probably be engaged.**

Tony let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Let me get this straight. You told me I could help you choose the kids we fostered, then went and offered to foster two complete strangers? Where do I get a say in this? It's my tower!" he complained.

"But Tony, they were going to be separated if I didn't do something. And the older one was so heartbroken already, I just couldn't leave him to be separated from his friend," Pepper replied.

Tony groaned. "And now I have two irresponsible teens running around my mansion," he summed up.

"You'll be fine," she promised him. "I'll take care of them and-" she leaned forward and began to whisper in his ear.

A small smile appeared on his face. "Uh huh, yeah, hmmm... Sure, they can stay," he agreed, surprisingly cheerful after his outbursts moments ago.

"That was _so_ not what he was saying just now," Nico muttered. His cousin simply sat in a chair next to him, turning his pen over in his hands. The olive-skinned boy sighed sadly, watching his long-time hero. He brightened considerably when an idea struck him. "Hey, Pepper, can I borrow your phone to call someone?" he asked. She glanced over at him with a smile. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"Sure," she told him. He flashed her a smile as he began to dial. He walked a little ways away.

"Oh, and is it okay if Percy and I go out later?"

Tony choked for a second, getting the darker meaning, rather than the real one. "What?" he asked, shocked.

"Percy and I, you know, like go out for pizza or something. Maybe I can..." Nico glanced over at his depressed cousin. "Get him to loosen up."

Pepper glared at Tony for a second, before replying, "Go ahead. We should come with you, you know, to get to know you guys better." A panicked look crossed Nico's face for a second.

"Um, that might not be the best idea. I was going to invite a couple friends to come with us. You know, just some people we know."

"Why would it be a bad idea?" Tony asked.

"They're kinda... over powering. And cold if they don't know you. And rowdy, and reckless sometimes, and immature, and-"

"We get it, you want to have a fun night out with your friends without adults," Pepper told him. "Just go and try and cheer Percy up." He gave her a small smile, before turning his attention to someone on the phone.

"Annabeth? Yeah, it's me, Nico. I'm calling about Percy. I was thinking maybe if we assembled some friends we could snap him out of his funk. You know, the old gang. Grover, you, me, Thals, Rachel. Yeah, I'll meet you at camp later tonight. Of course I'll drag him to see Chiron. The old man might help cheer him up. Yeah, I'll I.M. Thals and Grover. Do you want to take care of Rachel or should I? Okay, will do. Bye." Tony frowned, not completely understanding the conversation he was specifically trying to listen to.

"Well, I'm off to my lab," he announced, leaving the room. Nico waved distractedly in farewell as he dialed another number. "Jarvis, did you record the last phone call Nico made?"

"Yes, sir. Would you like me to play it for you?" the A.I.'s voice responded almost instantly.

"Later, make sure you record what he does. I'll look at it later tonight. I have some research to do," Stark murmured the last part as he headed off to his computer. Pulling up the screen, it showed a S.H.I.E.L.D insignia. "Let's see if you've updated you systems or not, shall we?"

Pepper had to resist a laugh as Nico seemed to get more and more anxious the later in the afternoon it got. He had certain sense of confidence, yet still seemed somewhat apprehensive. Pepper set a hand on his shoulder. He was still making calls. "I'm sure Percy is gonna love your plans," she told him.

Nico groaned in response. "No, he'll just have to put up with them. He'll know instantly that it's to get him out of the dumps." He paused to consider a thought. "And it'll probably work-"

Pepper grinned. "That's good right?"

"For as long as we're out. Once our friends leave and we stop partying and all that, he'll go back to his depressed funk," Nico finished.

Pepper sighed. "Anything you can think of that would get him out of this for a while?"

_"A strong drink over in Italy?"_ Nico wanted to suggest, but he didn't think she'd appreciate that very much. "I'm gonna take him to see a friend of ours. He has a talent for talking to... teens. He's pretty darn close to Percy. Maybe he can get him to relax." The phone in his hand rang. Glancing at the number, he flipped it open and put it to his ear. "Hey Rachel, did you do it? Sweet! That should help cheer him up!" There was a pause as he listened to Rachel say something. "I hadn't thought of that. Should I just call the whole thing off and just go for pizza or something? Okay, we'll try it. Yeah, okay. When are the reservations for? Gotcha, and Rachel? It really means a lot to us that you're doing this. Bye," he said as he closed the phone.

"So, what are your reservations?" Pepper asked.

"We're headed for the beach. Percy used to go there on vacation with his mom, and we're hoping that a few friends, a movie, pizza, music, and swimming will liven him up a bit."

"Swimming?"

"His favorite thing to do. You know, besides kissing his girlfriend and eating blue chocolate chip cookies." Nico smiled at the memories that surfaced. He remembered one time he had shadow-traveled into Percy's cabin and ended up running out, holding his eyes. He'd walked in on a full on make-out session. He remembered times when he and Percy had started wrestling, trying to be the first to get at Sally's cookies. Annabeth or Thalia usually fixed the problem. They grabbed the plate and walked off, leaving the boys to beg for the chocolate chip heaven.

"Tony has a pool if Percy wants to swim in it," Pepper said.

"Fresh water I'm assuming," Nico mumbled to himself, thinking. "That could help. I may just make him take you up on that offer." He glanced at the clock on the wall and hissed something Pepper couldn't understand. He took off, setting her phone down on a nearby counter. "I gotta go, I'll get Percy later," he called over his shoulder, racing for the elevator.

"What was that about?" Percy asked, his voice quiet and flat.

"Nico's going to do something I assume. So, what do you like to do?" Pepper asked, trying to get him to talk to her. He shrugged, sitting down on a nearby chair and staring at the pen in his hand.

"Stuff," she heard him mumble.

"Nico said you like swimming, is that true?"

"I guess."

"So, what school do you go to?" she asked. Percy didn't answer, he just sat there, staring off into space as he looked at his pen.

"Must be important to you," Pepper said quietly.

"Huh?" he wondered, his eyes flashing with confusion.

"Your pen. I said it must be important to you," she repeated. Percy shrugged, slipping the writing utensil into his pocket. Pepper sighed.

"I have work I have to do, but I'll be up in my office. It's on the next floor up. When you leave the elevator, it's the second door on the left, okay?" No response. She sighed once more and stood, slowly walking towards the elevator. Glancing back as the doors closed, she saw a tear streak down Percy's cheek as he clutched his pen in his hands. She had to refrain very hard from pressing the button to open the elevator door and run over to the crying boy. _'He doesn't trust you yet,'_ she told herself. _'He's overwhelmed with the move and everything. He'll be fine in a few days.'_ As much as she wanted to, she couldn't believe her own thoughts. Percy was broken, and no amount of time was going to fix that. She hoped his friends could set him on the mend, but something told her there was more to the problem than Percy and Nico were letting on. The look in his eyes was one she'd seen before, and it certainly didn't make her anymore confident in the ability of his friends to help him.

Nico came running into the building, taking a moment to remove the grin from his face. Everything was set. Everyone but Nico and Percy were at the cabin, even Mrs. O'Leary. He raced up the stairs, ignoring the elevator. He ran straight into the room Percy had been in earlier. He sighed, smiling ruefully when he saw his cousin. He was fast asleep, curled up in a chair. He frowned, noticing how Percy's eyebrows twitched. He saw a tear stain on his cheek. He noticed how the boy's breath was just a little too fast. Then his eyebrows pulled together completely. His breath sped up into gasping pants. When Nico set his hand on the boy's forehead, he felt sweat. His own breath began to speed up with worry. He shook Percy's arm.

"Percy, wake up Percy. Come on, get up!" he said, his voice raising pitch ever so slightly with worry. His friend began to shake, his body trembling. It took Nico a minute to realize Percy was crying in his sleep. Tears began to slip down his face. Fear coursed through the younger boy's body. He shook him insistently. "Percy, you have to wake up! NOW!" His cousin bolted up right, eyes wide and wild. When they fixed on Nico, he wrapped the boy in a hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't stop it. Couldn't stop her. I'm sorry, so, so sorry. I couldn't stop her." Nico's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his throat drying out. Percy just kept repeating the words, over and over. He wouldn't stop. Nico tried to pull away, but his friend held him close. "Percy? Percy, let go. Let go of me, Percy." The son of the sea god took no notice of his words. He continued to try and pull out of the strong grip, but he couldn't. Fear gnawed at him. What was wrong with Percy? Why was he acting like this? Finally, he couldn't take it. Nico sank into the shadows, moving away from his cousin. Percy blinked, surprised, when he vanished. Terror filled his face.

"No, no, no, no!" he began. Nico blinked, shocked by the reaction. "No!" Tears began to streak down Percy's cheeks once again. He gripped his cousin's arm, slamming into him from behind.

"Percy, please! Calm down!" Nico begged him, fear in his eyes. Slowly, his cousin relaxed. Sadness filled his sea-green eyes when he saw his fear. He turned his face away from his cousin.

"I'm gonna take shower," he mumbled.

The son of Hades watched him leave, fear clawing at his stomach. Something had caused that. Percy didn't just go psycho. Something was going on, something Percy wasn't telling him. And Nico was going to find out, no matter what it took. Because seeing his cousin so broken, so desperate, so protective, it terrified him. That wasn't the Percy he knew at all. He sighed, watching the doors to the elevator close. "What happened to you?" he asked brokenly.

When Percy came out of his shower, both cousins made an attempt to act like nothing had happened.

"I have a surprise for you," Nico told him with a grin. Percy blinked.

"We're going to Montauk! Same cabin, same strip. Come on!" he grinned as he pulled him towards the door.

"When will you be back?" Pepper called after them.

"Late, maybe not even until tomorrow," was the casual response as the elevator doors closed and the two boys went down stairs. With a sigh, Pepper heaved herself off her chair and went in search of Tony.

She found him in his 'lab'. He was sitting at his computer, looking at something intently.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked him. He glanced at her, before nodding at the screen. She glanced at it curiously. It looked like a S.H.I.E.L.D file. The name at the top of the screen read "Percy Jackson." She blinked.

"Look at this kid's file. It crazy!" Tony cried. Pepper skimmed through the file, her eyebrows creeping higher and higher on her face. He seemed to have been the subject of a nation-wide manhunt that lasted almost an entire summer at the age of twelve. During that time, according to the file, he had blown up the Saint Lewis Arch, been kidnapped and later seen on a beach, dueling with his kidnapper, supposedly with guns. The file claimed he had a step-father named Gabe Ugliano, who vanished mysteriously. He'd blown up a gym just a year later. Apparently, he had been seen racing into the Air and Space Museum just before it was trashed a few years back. He had wrecked a band room, then been seen jumping through the window to get away. He had been seen around Mt. Saint Helens just before the eruption. Photo's from the big "Manhattan Nap," as it had been dubbed, showed him completely awake and alert, running all over town. Just a few weeks ago he'd returned from being missing for over eight months. Towards the end of the eight months he'd wreck a Bargain Mart, stolen several vehicles, including a police car, and supposedly tried to kill two old ladies. He'd returned from being missing, and exactly one week later his mother and step-father died in a car accident. His father was unknown. He had ADHD and dyslexia.

Pepper's eyes were wide. "I don't believe it. I mean, there's no way he wouldn't be in jail! That can't be accurate!"

Tony shook his head. "And the other kid, Nico," He switched to a different screen. "He doesn't even have a file. The only Nico di Angelo on file has been missing for decades. If he were still alive, he'd be almost eighty years old. Yet somehow," Tony clicked on a picture of the 'older' Nico. It showed a young boy, younger than five, smiling up at a camera. He had black hair and dark eyes. He also had a slight olive skin tone.

"He looks just like him," Pepper breathed, looking at the picture with shock.

"There doesn't seem to be anything right about these two kids," Tony grumbled.

**Hope you guys liked it! I wanted to be able to post another chapter today, after seeing how well the first one was received. I hope you guys review! It really excites me and makes me want to write more when I see your reviews. And before someone says it in a review, yes, I know, Percy is completely and utterly ooc. He's supposed to be. Next chapter should be them at the beach. And maybe a little more about Percy's dreams.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Little Digging

**AN: Hey guys. I totally realize that I've been writing an ooc Nico, sorry. He isn't a very happy person in general, and I have a hard time writing not happy people. I'll do my best to try to make him a little more in character, but sometimes I need him to be a little ooc, since I can't have Percy do. Depressed and all. At somepoint, probably once I've completed this fic, I'll go back and try to rewrite him a little more into character. If you see anything, or have any advice that might help me get him a little more into character, I'd appreciate it. I didn't get any of Percy's dreams in here, sorry.**

**Disclaimer: There is no way I could own PJO, I'd fail writing Nico and Clarisse. I don't own Avengers, otherwise Nat and Clint would be a couple.**

Percy practically groaned as he was pulled out of the towers and into a back alley. Nico glanced around quickly, before pulling his cousin into the shadows behind him. Seconds later, they stepped out onto sand. The sun was still in the sky, but lazy evening rays were the only ones that shown down on them. Everything was quiet. The only sound were the seagulls who squawked and waddled along on the sand. The sea was calm, as if Poseidon was keeping it calm just for them. Percy looked around. His eyes saddened. His hand grabbed Riptide, turning over and over. For a second, a pang of fear gripped Nico's heart. What if Rachel was right? She had said earlier over the phone, _"It might not acctually. This was the place where he and his mom went. He only ever came here with her. It might just make him miss her even more." _If the look on his cousin's face was anything to go by, the young oracle had hit the nail on the head. Nico took a deep breath and pulled Percy toward the cabin.

"How about we go inside?" he asked. Suddenly, the ground seemed to tremble. It was like some giant beast was running. A loud _woof!_ echoed around them. Percy whirled around just as a mound of black fur tackled him. Pinning him to the ground, Mrs. O'Leary began to lick him.

"Hey! Down girl!" he yelped, trying to push her off. Nico resisted a smile. He opened the door to the cabin as his cousin stood, trying to fling monster spit off him. Percy's hair was spike up in the front from Mrs. O'Leary's 'attack'. He sighed, finger combing it into place. "Why are we here Nico?" he grumbled lightly. Nico nodded at the door slightly. Hesitantly, the other boy stepped inside.

"Percy!" a familiar someone shouted, tackling him in a hug. He hugged the boy back.

"Grover? I thought you were too busy to go anywhere but camp and stuff," he said, confused.

"Nah, seaweed brain. We heard there was a party here and came running," another voice added. Grover released him, smiling happily. Percy looked around the cabin, noting Thalia, Grover, and Rachel, all splayed out on couches that were new since he'd last been there. His heart sank slightly.

"Guess Annabeth was too busy with her architecture to come, huh?" he asked, sounding disappointed. Slender, tan arms wrapped around him from behind. Soft lips kissed his cheek lightly.

"Never too busy for you, Percy," his girlfriend told him with a blinding smile. He kissed her softly.

"Ew," Nico muttered, turning away.

"Hey, no PDA! Eternal maiden here!" Thalia cried, covering her eyes. Annabeth chuckled. A small smile pulled at the corners of Percy's mouth, not quite breaking through. The girls noted this with satisfaction. The boy's nosed twitched.

"I smell food. Pizza?" he asked, his mouth watering slightly. Everyone chuckled, leading him into the kitchen. Thalia grabbed a CD and popped it into the player. Loud, almost rock music began to play.

"Let's get this party started!" she cried, grabbed a plate and snatching a piece of pizza. Nico shook his head ruefully.

"Should've seen this coming," he and Annabeth muttered in unison. Percy ducked his head, but they caught a glimpse of a smile. He grabbed some pizza and sat down on one of the couches. Annabeth sat next to him, her pizza in her hand. She handed him a coke and he nodded thankfully at her, that small smile once again pulling at the corners of his mouth. _'I hadn't realized how much I missed these guys. The first time we've been together in forever,'_ he thought. In reality, it had been only a few weeks. But it had been before the accident. He'd really only seen Nico in the past week or two for any prolonged amount of time. Annabeth had been busy finishing up on Mt. Olympus, since she'd abandoned the project when Percy went missing, then went on the quest with them. Thalia had been busy with the hunt. Grover had been helping some of his satyrs bring kids safely into camp. And Rachel? Well, she'd been doing her usual "Save the red-bellied woodpecker" or "Kids' Art Museum" stuff. He'd seen Rachel, Grover and Annabeth in passing, when they stopped by to give their condolences, hug him, come to the funeral, that kind of thing. Thalia had even turned up to the funeral, but Artemis had dragged her away before she could really talk to Percy.

Soon, everyone was sitting down, soda and pizza in their hands. Jokes and playful insults flew through the air, almost literally. Everyone pretended not to notice how a smile had worked its way onto Percy's face, although it lightened the atmosphere of the room considerably.

"Do you really wanna go there Pinecone face?" Nico snarled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Thalia smirked. Water silently flew from the kitchen and crept along next to the ceiling. Just when the two were about to pull weapons, it dropped.

"Percy!" they shouted, turning towards the smirking boy. A small chuckle had escaped his mouth. Shaking his head, Nico found it hard to hold it against him. After all, just earlier that day he'd been so depressed he wouldn't do anything but stare at Riptide, and now he was dousing them with water again. Thalia, on the other hand, had no problem shocking him. He glared at her.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Soaking me! What else?"

"You were gonna destroy the cabin if I didn't do _something_," he argued. The others shrugged, finding it hard to fault that logic.

"So what if..." the words died in her mouth as she realized what she'd been about to say. Of course he cared if the cabin was destroyed. This was practically _his_ cabin. He'd been coming here since before his birth. It was were he and Sally _always_ went on vacation. It would be dumb to ask '_so what if we destroy the cabin?_' He probably would've gotten mad and done something rash. Just then, someone, or something, scratched and pounded at the door of the cabin. Annabeth frowned, walking over to the door. It opened to reveal a very left-out looking hellhound. Her ears were down and she whined them. Percy shook his head.

"Wait here, I'll grab the volley ball that always stays in the cabin. There's a net just a little ways down," he told them.

Thalia nodded, seeming to like that idea. "Girls on boys," she decided after Percy left the room. She grabbed a soda and began to guzzle it. Everyone but Nico laughed at the Hunter's view on almost everything, he simply shook his head, smiling slightly. When Percy returned, they all headed out to the net. No one seemed to realize, or care, that they had left the music blaring and the food out on the counter.

"So, anyone know the teams?" Percy asked, his voice still kinda quiet.

"Girls on boys," Thalia told him, dragging Annabeth and Rachel to one side of the net. He opened his mouth to argue, but the look on her face changed his mind. He sighed and walked to the other side of the net.

"You guys joining in or not?" Thalia grunted as Percy tossed her the ball. Grover and Nico glanced at each other, then hurried over to their friend's side.

-  
Pepper sat down hard on a chair nearby. "Oh my gosh, I just let kids with criminal records into the tower," she mumbled to herself.

Tony shook his head. "Jarvis is still finishing hacking into the older Nico's files. You know, see if there's anything recent about him," he said. "And as far as the police are concerned, neither boy has a criminal record." Pepper's head snapped up.

"What?! But Percy's gotten into so much trouble! Blowing up a school gym and band room? Wrecking the Saint Lewis Arch? Being part of a manhunt, surely there some kind of criminal record on him!"

Tony shook his head. "Nope, clean as a whistle. There's nothing there. Supposedly, he got off scott-free, no questions asked."

"Sir, I've found something in Mr. di Angelo's file that you might want to have a look at," Jarvis told him. Both adults turned their attention back to the screen. A previously blank portion of the screen had loaded.

"So the kid was last seen in Vegas before going missing with his sister, big deal," Tony grumbled. "Lots of people go missing from Vegas everyday."

Pepper frowned, remembering something that had been mentioned on the way to the tower. "Check Westover Hall, the military school, enrollment from about four years ago," she suggested. It took him a minute, but soon Tony was looking at the list. "Check for the last name di Angelo," Pepper said unnecessarily. He was already checking it. There were two names. Bianca and Nico.

"Just give me a minute and I'll pull up their pictures." The photos revealed one boy and one girl. The girl had silky, dark hair and black eyes. She had the same olive skin as Nico. The girl looked to be about twelve. The boy had familiar dark eyes and hair. He looked to be about ten.

Pepper took a deep breath as she excepted one key fact. "They look exactly the same."


	4. Chapter 4: What Happened In The Alley

**AN: Hullo, hullo. I'm back after a few days rest. I made this chap the longest one to make up for being missing for a few days. I'm basing this story off of the Avengers and PJO, possibly HoO as well, so if something is inconsistent, you can tell me, but just realize that I'm not including Thor 2 or Captain America 2 until I see them at least, and probably not at all. As a wonderful reviewer phrased it, "And the plot thickens!" **

It soon became apparent to the other demigods that if a joke was cracked, or something funny happened, it was becoming harder and harder for Percy not to smile. For some of them, it became their goal to make the depressed son of the sea smile. They played a few rounds of volleyball, before they headed back to the cabin.

"Can I change the music?" Grover asked, watching Thalia replace the CD for the fifth time.

Percy shrugged, "Go ahead."

"Gods, no!" Thalia cried. "Do you remember the music from Westover Hall?" Nico and Annabeth chuckled, while Percy cracked a smile.

"It wasn't that bad!" Grover protested.

"Better idea," Percy said, motioning towards the door. The whole room groaned.

"But Percy, it's probably freezing!" the satyr complained.

"I don't feel like freezing my butt off, thank you very much," Thalia told him.

"I'm with Thals, you go ahead Percy," Rachel piped in.

"If you keep me dry, I might join you," Annabeth replied, glancing down at him. He was laying on one of the couches, his head in her lap. He grinned up at her, nodding enthusiastically.

"Great, lets go try and freeze to death," Nico muttered with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. Percy chuckled. The others smiled. Percy stood up, grabbing Annabeth by the hand and leading the way outside. The others followed, most with comments like, "Don't expect to see me in the water," or, "I don't feel like freezing just yet."

As they were heading outside, Rachel stopped Nico.

"I think it worked," she told him with a smile.

A small smile graced his features. "Yeah, it's good to have Percy back." Rachel nodded agreement before heading outside.

The smile vanished from Nico's face as he thought about his cousin's behavior before they came to the beach. Percy maybe back to smiling, but he wasn't healed yet. And he had no doubt that once they left the beach, the son of the sea god would return to being depressed and unpredictable. It wasn't a thought he liked.

Percy smiled as they walked down the beach. The morning rays were just beginning to show over the top of ocean. His arm was around Annabeth's shoulders, who was content to wrap her arms around his torso and hug him as they walked. Percy literally felt like if you'd set him on the top of the Empire State Building, he could have walked on air.

He had an afterglow, you know the one after you play outside with your friend or sibling and you just wish that moment would never end. The feeling that makes you forget everything else until it ends. You don't even usually realize how much fun you're having until you're done. Then you look back on it and you just feel amazing remembering all the fun that you had, and you think that if you ever had to choose just one moment to go back and relive, that would be the one you wanted. That was the feeling the son of Poseidon was experiencing.

The sand stretched out on the beach as far as the eye could see, shells coating it like sprinkles on a cupcake. The ocean was almost calm, small waves forever lapping at the shoreline. The feeling at yet to fade as Percy inhaled deeply, smelling the salt water. Seagulls and other birds, but mostly seagulls, flew around, cawing in the pearly light. He could see Nico standing just outside the cabin, a reluctant look on his face. The feeling vanished, leaving only its pleasant memories behind for his comfort. Percy wanted to grab onto something and refuse to leave, like he used to do when he was little. He wanted to stay in that moment for the rest of his life, to stay there and relive that night.

He doubted anyone in the cabin had slept. They had played volleyball, gone swimming, ate pizza and sweets, drank soda, listened to music, played truth-or-dare, wrestled, heck, they even watched movies and played video games. Percy wasn't sure that was such a good idea, but with the children of the big three all there anyway it was only a matter of time before a monster showed up again. Surprisingly, nothing had happened. Tyson stopped by at about three o'clock in the morning to say hi. He stayed for an hour or so before going back, promising to see Percy more often so they could "eat peanut butter and go swimming." It had been good to see his brother again.

Now, Percy was dreading returning to his foster home. Sure, the tower was cool and all, but it just seemed weird. It wasn't his kind of place. And the dreams had began after meeting Pepper and Tony, and they'd worsened at Stark Towers. The dreams of the tall, black haired man with green eyes and a sadistic grin. The dreams filled with promises of both, death and protection. Every time he so much as closed his eyes at that tower it brought back that sadistic grin and that silver tongue. That smooth voice purring in his ear, promising him he'd never have to see anyone he loved in pain ever again. That nothing bad would ever happen. No more death, no more injuries. No more wars. Everything he ever wanted for his friends, provided simply because he asked.

Percy blinked as he came to reality. Nico was trying to talk to him.

"-don't want to," he was saying. "But it's time to head back. We can take them with us on the way to the tower, you know, say good bye there if you want, but then I need to take them back to their homes. After all, Tony'll get annoying, pestering us where we've been if Pepper gets worried." It was like he could see his friend's hesitation. Nico gave a wry smile, his form of encouragement. Percy took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, we can split at the towers. We can go with Mrs. O'Leary, that way you can take whoever you have to back without too much trouble," he decided. Nico nodded.

"I can walk home. After all, we're still in New York," Rachel said. The others shrugged.

"And I can probably get the gray sisters to take me back, me and Grover-" Anabeth started to say.

"No!" Grover cut in. "Nico can take us home!" Everyone chuckled, though Percy's wasn't as warm as it would have been a few moments ago. Mrs. O'Leary, awakened at the mention of her name, came bounding over, determined to lick everyone just one more time. Nico was the only one that just stood there and ignored her. Percy could have marveled at that, but decided his time would be better spent paying attention to all his friends, not staring at his foster brother in admiration. It still sounded weird in his mind to call Nico his foster brother. He couldn't tell if he thought it was a good thing or not.

"Well, are we leaving or staying? I'm not standing around here all day doing nothing!" Thalia's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The others shrugged as they walked towards the hellhound. Percy followed after them. _'I just hope neither Tony or Pepper are outside when we arrive,'_ he thought as he climbed onto his dog.

Tony sighed, spinning his bar chair around in circles as he waited to see what feed Jarvis could find that showed the whereabouts of his new foster kids.

"Their just outside the tower sir," the AI told him. Tony frowned, sitting upright and stopping the chair.

"Pull up the video feed Jarvis."

"Yes, sir." The screen nearby showed a picture of six kids, three girls and three boys. Two of the boys he recognized. Percy and Nico.

Percy was smiling, something Tony hadn't seen him do before. He marveled for a moment at how different he looked when he was smiling. His arm was around the shoulders of a curly blonde beside him. The girl was about his height with a deep tan. She had gray eyes, almost like storm clouds. She wore jeans, a bright orange t-shirt, and a leather necklace, similar to Percy's, only her's had more beads and a gold ring at the center.

Nico stood off to the side of the group, hands in his pockets. He noticed the occasional ducked head that wasn't fast enough to hide his smile, but, without his audio feed, he couldn't tell why. He wore his usual black pants, on black shirt, on black jacket with a silver skull ring.

The third boy had curl brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a bright green shirt that said something like "Saving the Wilderness, one nymph at a time." He had the same leather necklace as the blonde did, only no ring.

The second girl had electric blue eyes and black hair. She wore a silver t-shirt and silver jeans. A silver circlet ringed her forehead. She too had a leather necklace, thought only the leather strap was visible. She stood next to the final girl, a redhead.

The redhead had bright green eyes and freckles. She wore ratty jeans with old marker doodles that had been cut into shorts at about the knee and a ratty t-shirt that read "Save the Star-nosed Mole!" It seemed to be a theme going, because she too had a leather necklace, although there was only a bead or two on her necklace.

Something small and black ran around Percy, making him smile even wider. Looking closer, Tony could see it was a black poodle. The boy made 'down, girl' kind of motions with his hands.

"Hey Jarvis, why is there no audio feed?"

"Turning it on now sir."

_"Mrs. O'Leary! That's gross!"_ a girl's voice said over the feed as the poodle licked the girl dressed in silver.

_"What's wrong with getting licked Thalia?"_ Nico asked her.

_"That I'm not used to, and don't like, getting covered in monster spit!"_ the girl, Thalia, snapped in return. A chuckled sounded around them. It was a nice, warm, friendly sound. The kind of sound that made you feel right at home around whoever made it. Tony studied the screen when he heard the sound, scanning for the owner. He blinked when he saw Percy's shoulders shaking. A warm grin was stretched across his face. It appeared to be infectious, as every other member of the small group got a smile too. The blonde reached up and pecked his lips.

_"It's good to have you back, seaweed brain,"_ she murmured quietly. Tony had to strain to hear it. Several members of the small group nodded or made affirming statements. Nico pat him on the back, Thalia lightly punching his arm on the other side. The blonde ducked out of the way.

_"It's good to have you back cuz,"_ Thalia said with a smile. The boy on his left nodded. Percy couldn't help but glance at the tower. His smile wavered for a moment, before it steadied out a bit. Nico set a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. The blonde frowned.

_"What's wrong Percy?"_ she asked. The only unnamed boy was also frowning.

_"Why are you so upset?"_ he asked.

_"Don't know what ya mean,"_ Percy responded, his smile still in place. Tony noticed it had gotten a great deal stiffer than it was a few moments ago.

_"Percy's not overly fond of our new... residence," _Nico said quietly. Stark frowned, leaning forward with interest and irateness.

_"What's wrong with it?"_ the blonde wondered.

Nico hesitated. _"Well, they-" _he began.

_"They want to make it home, and it's not! I have a home, two in fact, and this isn't either of them!"_ Percy snarled. _"We all have homes, and you don't just waltz into someone's life and try to give them a new one! Plus, look at it! Do you really think _I_ would be comfortable _living_ in my Uncle Z's domain? I mean, it practically screams 'Hey, come kill me!' Like he really needed another excuse!" _Tony frowned. _'Uncle Z? Kill?'_ he wondered interestedly. The black poodle nuzzled at Percy again. He waved at it impatiently.

_"In a minute Mrs. O'Leary,"_ he grumbled to the dog, then, to the others, he continued, _"And then _he_ shows up and starts-"_ His eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth, like he hadn't meant to say that. Tony was literally on the edge of his seat.

_"He who?"_ the third boy asked.

_"No one!"_ Percy yelped. _"No one okay?"_

The third boy set a hand on his arm and leaned in so his mouth was right by his ear. _"You know I know you're lying. When you're ready to tell me, I'll be at camp. You could always call me in to help, you know. Just call for me, I'm not completely useless,"_ he whispered quietly. Tony had to crank up the volume and replay that to hear it. A small smile appear on Percy's lips.

_"I just might, thanks Grover,"_ he said, hugging the boy, Grover.

_"Wait, hold up! Who's the he?"_ Thalia argued. The two boys looked at each other and shrugged.

_"Doesn't matter,"_ they both answered.

The blonde hugged Percy one last time. _"You know we've always been able to tell each other everything. I'll do whatever you need me to when you're ready, you know."_ She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Tony could see the disgust evident in Thalia's recoil and hear it in Nico's exclamation. But the two ignored them. He wrapped his arms around the girl, pulling her closer against him. Her hands entangled themselves in his wild, windblown hair. A peaceful moan escaped from their lip-lock. It was the kind of scene that Pepper would have cooed at.

Finally, the two broke apart. Their friends had already said good-bye to each other and gathered into their groups.

_"Grover and I can Mrs. O'Leary back to camp, Nico can take Thalia back to the hunters, and Rachel's either walking or grabbing a ride," _the blonde said, looking around at the groups. Everyone but Percy rolled their eyes.

"Ms. Brainiac figures it out again," Nico grumbled, beginning to tow Thalia off. Percy frowned.

_"How'd you know?"_ he asked. _"I was just about to ask what the extra group was for."_

The girl chuckled. _"Daughter of Athena, remember?"_ She pecked his lips. _"Stay safe seaweed brain." _

_"I'll be here waiting Annabeth,"_ he promised. Tony blinked as he watched Grover and the blonde, Annabeth, climb onto the back of the poodle, which, surprisingly, didn't collapse. Instead, it bounded deeper into the alley. Nico and Thalia followed after it. The redhead, Rachel, gave Percy a hug and turned to go. She paused, facing away from him.

_"You should stop by some time," _she suggested. _"After all, _we_ need to talk."_

Percy took a deep breath and swallowed before answering, "Is is about... your job at camp?"

The girl nodded. "I've seen things... things we need to talk about." Tony noticed the color begin to drain from Percy's face. He nodded. He seemed to age ten years, simply standing there, taking in her words. On the screen, Tony saw the redhead walk off, before Percy turned towards the tower and sighed. Slowly, he began to walk towards the door.

Tony couldn't exactly understand a thing that had been said, but he knew one thing was for certain. Rachel and Percy were knee deep in something bad, and the 'camp' had something to do with it.

**Okay, so I totally suck for always leaving you with cliffies and not finishing them in the next chapter. Just a warning, I may not be updating much after today for a few weeks. I have to help with my church's VBS, Swimteam, and keep up with my job next week. After that I spend the next week getting ready for my mission's trip, then I have to take care of the house with my mom when my bros go to camp. Then I go on my mission's trip. Thirty something hours after I get back, I go to residence camp with my AHG troop. I also have responsibilities to my family and such. I'm going to update as much as possible today and tomorrow and a week from now, but it may be few and far between until August. This is a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. Pretty time consuming really. I'll see you guys when I put up the next chapter!\**

**RADyo**


	5. Chapter 5: Terror of the Dark

**AN: Lucy, I'm home! Hullo all, hullo. I have returned. Contrary to my thoughts, I was able to post something! I lied the last chap, it wasn't the longest... this one is. Almost ten pages without ANs! This for yall!**

Wearily, Percy opened the door and entered the tower. He walked straight for the elevator and sent it up to the floor that contained his room. Once there, he collapsed onto his bed, exhaustion overwhelming him. He hadn't slept well the past few days, dreams haunting him every time he closed his eyes. He sighed almost peacefully against his comforter. His eyes were closed, yet all he saw was darkness. He didn't see his friends, he didn't see his mom, his dad, Paul, just darkness. But best of all? There was no voice. The damn silky, smooth, cat-like, practically purring voice wasn't there. The stranger didn't appear. His sadistic grin stayed out of Percy's sight. There wasn't any black hair or bright, gray-green eyes.

The boy sighed as he opened his eyes. His tense muscles relaxed. He stretched lazily on his bed, before closing his eyes and slipping under the covers. It wasn't long before he was asleep.

He was sleeping peacefully when he heard a voice. Firm hands shook his shoulder gently.

"Percy, wake up. Perce, come on. Perc-" Nico was cut short and a gurgling sound took the place of his voice. A warm, soft weight fell on Percy's chest. He groaned and tried to roll over. Warm liquid touched his skin, soaking his clothing and covers.

Gently, Percy opened his eyes. A shadowy figure stood over him, a sword in his hand. Dark liquid dripped from it. Nico lay, unmoving, on his cousin's chest. Percy's breath sped up. He grabbed the boy, pulling him closer and away from the figure. Warm liquid met the demigod's fingers.

Looking down, Percy took in the state of his young cousin. Nico's eyes were wide and unblinking. They seemed to have glazed over. His mouth was opened, like he was mid-sentence. It was a look the son of the sea knew too well. Tears threatened to fill his eyes, but he pushed them back. Where his fingers were, over his cousin's heart, was a dark spot on Nico's back. His black clothing had a wet, darkened look. A cut in the clothing gave him the barest glimpse of olive skin. Tears slipped down his face.

"Nico!" he shouted, shaking the boy. A part of him knew that with the look on his cousin's face, he wouldn't get a reply. Part of him knew what his brain refused to accept. "Nico! Please, Nico! Nico!" The boy didn't move.

"You can stop it," a silky voice purred in his ear. Percy's head snapped around, looking for the owner of the voice. But no one was there. In his mind he already knew the answer.

"All you have to do is listen. Obey," it continued. Tears were pouring down Percy's face as he cuddled his cousin's body against him. The shadow figure vanished.

Percy stood up, looking around. He pulled Nico's body up with him, clutching it like it was all that mattered. He lifted the limp corpse up bridal style. He ran, shakily, towards his door. Throwing it open, it revealed a clearing. A familiar clearing in a familiar forest. He turned and looked back the way he had come, but the room was gone. Turning, he saw Annabeth lounging in the center of the clearing with Grover. They were laying down, relaxing. They waved towards him.

"Percy, over here!" Grover called with a smile. He took a step in their direction. A shadow crossed over them, and a horrid screech filled the air. A rush of scales passed between them, and when it vanished, Grover was gone. Fear pricked Percy's heart. _'Just a dream,'_ he told himself. _'It can only be a dream! Not real!'_ Annabeth didn't even seem to notice. She just kept smiling at him, waving for him to join her. He went to step forward, only find he was stuck. He couldn't move. His mouth felt like it was full of glue.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared behind her. Her eyes widened. Her mouth froze, mid-call. A dark sword stuck from her chest, just like it had from a giant's stomach back in seventh grade when she had stabbed it. The sword was wrenched from her body and she fell over. The figure just seemed to melt from his vision as tears once again began to stream down Percy's face. His feet unfroze. He ran towards her, stumbling slightly.

"No!" he screamed. He dropped to his knees beside her, trying to clutch her and Nico against his chest. "Annabeth! No, please Annabeth! Please, wake up! Be okay! Annabeth!" He searched the clearing frantically, looking for someone, anyone.

"All you have to do to stop it... is ask," the voice purred in his ear. "Ask and agree."

Percy shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "Leave me alone! Just stop it!" An arrow streaked across the clearing. Monsters flooded out of one side of the clearing, while the hunters appeared on the other side. He could see Thalia, her bow in hand, coolly shooting arrow after arrow. He watched other hunters around her fall to hellhounds, cyclops, dracene, and other creatures. Large, purple spikes shot out from the woods and lodged in her shoulder. She hissed in pain and dropped the arrow in her hand. It clattered to the ground. A line of golden fur crossed his vision. Thalia's eyes widened. The end of the manticore's tail was shoved into her neck. She fell from the tree and hit the ground with a _thud!_

"No! Stop! Please, just stop it!" Percy shouted, staggering towards the fallen form of his cousin. "Just stop it and leave me alone! Please!"

"All you had to do was ask," the voice sounded amused. Nico's corpse melted into a pool of shadows. Annabeth shimmered and vanished. Thalia burst into golden powder, like a monster. Fear gripped Percy as he turned in circles, looking for the corpses of his friends. The forest melted into shadows, turning dark as night. Then _he _appeared. The tall stranger that wouldn't leave him alone. They seemed to be standing on an invisible platform. His long black hair was slicked back with, what looked like, more hair gel than anyone else could ever use. His eyes seemed to shift colors, from bright emerald green, to gray-green or just gray. Percy usually just settled for green, since there was almost always some little bit of green in them. His skin was pale. The son of Poseidon stumbled away from him.

"What did you do?" he growled, eyes wide. The man chuckled.

"Why, you act as if _I_ sent the dreams. No, I merely remove them," he told the boy. Percy noticed the twitch of his mouth, dubbing him a liar. He shook his head slightly, still backing away from the approaching form. With a wave of his hand, the man made a scene come to life beneath him.

The scene was set in a huge dump. Five kids were hiding in various places. He saw one of the kids charge towards a giant robot. This one was a girl.

"Bianca," Percy muttered sadly. The stranger set his hands on the boy's sagging shoulders.

"Your fault," he whispered gently. The boy clenched his fists.

"No! She made her own choices," he grumbled, turning away and pacing. "Not even Nico blames me anymore."

"You know he's just saying that. He doesn't really think you're blameless. He'll always know _you_ were the one who let his sister die. Your fault."

"No!" Percy cried, stumbling back again. The scene changed just as the robot came tumbling down. It shifted to a boat. Monsters and demigods alike littered the deck. One boy was held between two giants. Another boy stood helpless nearby.

"Beckendorf," he mumbled.

The stranger seemed to snort in amusement. "Yes, another person who died. And it was all. Your. Fault."

"No! He told me to go! I've talked to him! He doesn't hold it against me at all!"

"I'm sure that's just what he told you. Too kind to tell you the truth."

"No! Just shut up and go away!" Percy shouted, grabbing his head.

The stranger shrugged, as if nonchalant, but his sadistic smile had grown stiffer, as if he were angry. Flames of mischief seemed to dance in his eyes. "All you had to do was ask." He vanished. The scene below the boy went black. He sighed in relief, still clutching his head in his hands.

Then, suddenly, the floor he seemed to be standing on vanished, as if it never existed. Percy let out a shout of surprise as he plunged into the murky shadows below.

Warm hands shook him gently.

"Percy? Hey Perce, wake up," Nico's voice sounded through the darkness. Percy's eyes flew open, and he grabbed Nico in a bone crushing hug. He clutched him tight. He blinked in surprise when Nico tentatively hugged him back. He pulled the boy down onto the bed next to him.

"You're safe, I promise," Percy whispered, clutching him close. "I'll keep you safe, I promise." He half expected at least a "What are you talking about?" from the son of Hades, but the boy just shrugged and lay in his cousin's arms. The son of Poseidon relaxed slowly. _'Just a dream. He's perfectly fine.'_ Percy squeezed him lightly, just to be sure he was really there. He looked down, smiling. Nico was beginning to smile back when he melted. He just seemed to melt into a puddle of shadows, just like in the dream.

"No! Nico!" he shouted, turning in circles as he tried to find his cousin. "No, no no!" He fumbled as he grabbed for the phone on the bed stand. He instantly dialed Rachel's number. It ran for a few moments before she picked up.

_"Hello?"_ she asked.

"Rachel?" Percy's voice was timid.

_"Percy? Yeah, it's me. What's wrong?" _

"Are you okay? You know, nobody weird showed up or anything? You didn't get hurt or something?"

_"Yeah, I'm fi-" _the voice died suddenly.

"Rachel? Rachel?!" he shouted down the line. He glanced at the screen and noticed the call was over. He dialed Annabeth's number.

_"Hello?"_ she answered.

"Annabeth!" Percy's voice oozed relief.

_"Percy? Is something wrong?" _

"NO! Are you okay? Are you staying out of the woods? Have you seen Grover recently?"

_"No, Grover just left for one of his 'Lord of the Wild' missions. Are you feeling okay? Are you sure nothing's wrong?"_

"Yeah! Just, do me a favor and stay out of the woods, okay?"

_"If you want,"_ she replied, her voice showing her confusion. _"Did you have a dream or something?"_

"NO! I didn't! Did you?"

_"No, I-"_ A buzz sounded from the other end of the phone. The line had gone dead. Fear raced through Percy's veins.

"No! Oh, gods, just come back already! Make them go away!" he shouted. He had a feeling the stranger was listening. He always seemed to be. "Just make it stop!" He could practically hear the chuckle. Oh, wait, no. He _did_ hear the chuckle. Fingers ran along the back of his neck.

"All you had to do was ask," he purred. The man's breath tickled his ear. The hairs on the back of Percy's neck stood straight up. The dream melted into shadows. _"You could always call me in to help, you know,"_ the words echoed in his mind. _'Grover! Please, Grover! Help!'_

"He won't help you," the stranger said, fingers lightly squeezing the back of the boy's neck.

"Yes, he will. H- he promised."

"But so did you," he taunted. "You promised to keep Bianca alive, and where is she now?"

"She made her own choices!"

"So did you. And you chose to let her die."

"You weren't even there! You don't know what I did! I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen!" Percy shouted, trying to wrench out of his grip. The hands on the back of his neck tightened. The fingers snaked further around his neck, until they cut off his air supply. In an instant, the fingers were gone. Percy turned, but he didn't see the stranger. Suddenly, the man's breath tickled his ear.

"You know they won't believe you. They'll blame you. But I could fix it. I can stop all the deaths, all the injuries. All the wars. You're friends would never have to get hurt again. Annabeth would never have to be hurt again. You could protect Nico, keep him safe. Injuries would never reach Thalia. Grover would never die. Friends would never betray you, no one would ever hurt them. And all you have to do," he purred, "Is help me."

Percy sat up, gasping. His sea-green eyes were wide and wild. Sweat coated his forehead. Trembles shook his body. His hair stuck up in all directions. He looked down at his hands, as if searching for something. He sighed and put his head in his hands, sitting up.

"Just a dream, only a dream," he mumbled, climbing out of bed and walking towards the bathroom. He grabbed a stray shirt that sat on the dresser as he opened the door. He splashed water on his face before looking up into the mirror. His eyes widened and he gasped as he looked in the mirror. His neck was bright red-purple. The bruises formed the shape of long fingers that curled around his neck. His air seemed to vanish just thinking about it. Only one thought remained. _'Was it really a dream?'_

Tony sat at his computer, typing furiously. After while, he had moved into the main room, the one where the boys hung out most of the time. Pepper sighed, standing up from where she'd been sitting for the past ten minutes.

"What are you even doing?" she asked.

"I'm checking something I heard earlier," he told her. "Jarvis, play her the security footage from just outside the tower. The one you showed me earlier." Pepper sighed, but looked over at the screen. Her eyes widened at the smile on Percy's face. Tony didn't seem to care.

"Fast forward to the conversation about the tower," he called distractedly. This time, Pepper frowned, listening to them talk.

"Jarvis, pause feed," she called, turning to Tony. "Who's his uncle Z? What does he mean 'domain'? Why would his uncle try to kill him?" she asked worriedly. The billionaire shrugged.

"Keep watching, then I'll tell you what I saw. Jarvis, fast forward past the kiss."

"Kiss? Jarvis, don't fast forward!" she demanded. If Jarvis had eyes he probably would have rolled them.

"Yes, ma'am," the AI replied. Tony groaned. As he listened, he found out he was right. She did coo.

"What does 'Daughter of Athena' mean? Is it a nickname?" she asked vaguely.

" Don't know. Still looking," came the reply. She shrugged and went back to watching. She blinked when the video ended.

"What job?" she asked finally.

"I don't know," Tony admitted.

"Well, let's ask the boys," she suggested. As if on cue, the elevator door opened, revealing Nico. He yawned as he walked out. Pepper stood up.

"Where were you? You didn't come ho-" she changed her word at the last minute, "Back last night." He shrugged.

"I told you we might not be back until this morning," he reminded her. He walked straight for one of the chairs and practically threw himself down. His eyes closed for a moment, before he opened them and looked around.

"What's Tony doing?" he asked, squinting at the words on the screen.

"Research," the man answered. "I'm looking up relations between Greek gods." Nico tensed, before relaxing a little. Both adults noticed he looked remarkably uncomfortable with the change.

"Really? That's cool. Why're you looking that up?"

"Jarvis play the video feed from earlier." The adults watched Nico carefully as the video popped up. He tensed, then relaxed and his shoulders seemed to slump.

"Oh, gods," they just barely heard him mutter. "Dad is gonna kill me." As the video played they heard him mutter words they didn't understand. When it got the kiss, Nico groaned and turned away.

"Can we skip this? I really don't need to see Percy and his girlfriend make out!" he grumbled.

Tony chuckled. "Jarvis, skip to the end of the kiss." Nico sighed with relief when the video fast forward through the gushy stuff. The adults heard a few more muttered words that didn't sound very uplifting.

Tony stood up once the video ended. "Now, I've been dying to know what Percy means by Uncle Z."

Nico shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Well, you are his best friend, aren't you?" Pepper asked.

"I wish! Grover's his best friend! I'm just his c- friend. I'm just his friend," Nico gulped, barely catching his slip up.

"You're his what? His c-? Cousin maybe?" Tony suggested.

"Wasn't Thalia his cousin?" Pepper asked.

Nico nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, Thalia's his cousin."

"So who's Thalia's dad?"

"I... don't know. She's not a very open person."

"..."

"Look, Nico, we're just trying to understand who we let into our home. Can you tell us about Percy's parents?"

The son of Hades gulped. He wiped sweaty palms on his jeans. "I... I don't know that much," he lied.

"Just tell us what you do know," Pepper encouraged.

"Well, Percy never knew his dad. His mom said..." Nico racked his brain. Surely Sally had told him some lie. "He was lost at sea. They never knew what happened to him, so he wasn't an open topic." The adults shrugged, seeming to accept the story.

"And what about his mom? What was she like?"

"Aunt Sally was nice. She was the kind of person that just was that way, didn't get angry, or yell. She made great cookies," he joked.

"Aunt Sally?" Tony asked, smirking. Nico's eyes widened for a second before he shrugged.

"Y-yeah, she, uh... insisted that we, um... call her that." he stumbled through the sentence.

"All of you?"

"Yeah." Nico turned his attention towards the computer screen. "So, what've you found so far?"

"Uh, that the only 'Uncle Z' from Greek mythology would be Zeus," Tony answered. "And it fits really well, seeing as how 'Uncle Z' has a domain, and it seems to be that my tower is in it. Now my tower reaches into the sky, the sky is Zeus's domain, thus Uncle Z is most likely Zeus... You know, if Greek mythology really existed." Both adults noticed Nico let go of the breath he was holding.

"Yeah, I mean, that's ridiculous. Greek mythology doesn't exist! I mean, it would be ridiculous! Roman mythology doesn't exist, nor does... Egyptian, or..." Nico grasped for another mythology, but couldn't think of one.

"Norse?" Tony suggested.

"Yeah! Norse! That would be crazy!"

"Right, about as crazy as aliens attacking New York?"

"That only happens in movies!"

"Sure, ever seen something on the **big** screen? I saw one about three months ago."

"Don't they play all the time?"

"Nope, this one was 4D."

"4D? But isn't that..." Nico groaned and muttered something Pepper was glad she couldn't understand. Tony smirked at him.

"You're a jacka-" the boy began.

"Nico!" Percy's voice cried as he ran and tackled his cousin in a hug.

"Oof! Percy! Let me go!" Nico shouted, trying to wiggle free. The older boy gripped him tighter, squeezing him. The son of Hades coughed, trying to gasp in air.

"Percy!" he wheezed. The son of the sea god loosened his hold, allowing the smaller boy to slip from his grasp. Nico turned to yell at him, but froze when he saw the look on his face. The relieved smile, the glistening eyes that threatened to spill out, the bright red-purple bruises that snaked around his neck. He changed his mind, grabbed his cousin's hand and pulled him out of the room before Tony or Pepper could do anything. He dragged him down to their rooms and slammed the door.

"What was that? What's wrong?" Nico demanded. Fear gnawed his stomach when the smile didn't drop from Percy's face. The son of Poseidon reached out and touched his shoulder.

"You're alive," he whispered, relief coating his voice.

"Jarvis, where are the boys?" Tony asked quickly.

"In their room, sir."

"Pull up security footage, audio and visual." The screen changed from black to a picture of the room the boys were given. Despite being told many times they could have separate rooms, the two insisted on sharing one. The beds were on the far side of the picture, only the foot of them visible. Nico and Percy were just inside the door, which was shut. The older boy had his back to the wall and his friend stood in front of him.

_"You're alive," _Percy whispered, touching Nico's shoulder. The boy seemed taken aback.

_"Of course I'm alive! What did-"_ he froze, mid-rant. _"You've been dreaming again!"_ he accused.

_"What?"_ Percy asked, confusion written on his face.

_"You, dreaming! You did this the other day! You started crying about Bianca! Saying it was your fault and what not! Then when you woke up, you grabbed me then too!"_ Nico's face softened. _"Why didn't you tell me? Does this have something to do with the _he_ you mentioned?"_

Percy paled at the mention. _"No! No, I-"_

_"Just tell me!" _he shouted, all patience lost. The older boy blinked, surprised.

_"I- I don't know_ his _name, I swear!"_

_"Then a description. Tell me what he looks like,."_

Percy nodded slowly. _"Long, black hair, slicked back with hair gel. Green eyes, tall, pale." _

Tony sat down hard, his face white. "No. Damn. Way!" he said. He fumbled with his phone. He dialed a number. "Hey, question for you. Describe Loki for me. No, I know what he looks like, just describe him, basic description. Uh huh. Yeah, kay. Jarvis! Run a scan through the footage from the boys room and tell me if there are any sightings of anyone other than Percy or Nico in there." There was a few seconds of quiet.

"Sir, there seems to be one sighting of someone other than Nico or Percy in the room." The screen split in half, part still on Percy, and part bringing up a different angle. It was focused around Percy's bed, where the boy was curled up. He seemed to be asleep, but he was shivering and shaking. Tony froze when he saw the person. Loki stood over him, with a sadistic grin. He gently stroked Percy's hair when he whimpered. Suddenly, the grin faded into an angry snarl. His fingers curled around the boy's neck angrily, cutting off his air. Then, Loki seemed to change his mind, taking his hands off the boy completely. He leaned down and whispered something against Percy's ear, making him squirm some more, before he vanished. The boy shot up in bed, eyes wild. His hair was tousled. Sweat glistened on his skin.

"My god, Percy," Tony grumbled, rubbing his head. "What've you gotten into?"

**And thus I end the chapter! I need ideas on how to introduce the rest of the avengers into this. I have some, but I'm not sure I like 'em. So, if my wonderful reviewers will give me ideas, I will be in your debt. So, I know, I have such an original bad guy, but life is. If you have an idea you'd like to see in this story, let me know in a review. Till later!**

**RADyo**


	6. Chapter 6: Grappling in the Elevator

**AN: LUCY I'M HOME! So, sorry that this was so long in coming. I feel like I should be updating more often... Oh, well. I had a lot more free time when I started this... And for some reason I thought it would continue through the summer... whatev. Anyway... Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! You guys got me so. Freaking. INSPIRED! And, because of that, I have posted another chap. Not as long as my last one, but whatev.**

**Disclaimer: I realized I haven't been doing these too often. But hey, ya'll know I couldn't have written PJO or created Avengers... I would fail directing Natasha... **

"Have you seen the news?" Fury heard someone whisper to their friend as he walked down the hall.

"About Stark?" someone else whispered back.

"Yeah," the first voice confirmed.

"Totally, can't believe they did that," he heard another person mutter. He nearly groaned in frustration. It was bad enough Stark thought it would be great to go and foster two kids, but go figure they're the kind that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't like. A brat who doesn't exist and a terrorist with no criminal record. Fury groaned as he threw himself down onto the chair in his office. He pulled up the files once more. Nico di Angelo and Percy Jackson.

Nico's file consisted of very little. Fury didn't know why, but he'd had sudden urges to increase security to this file, again and again. He doubted even Stark could hack into it. Of course, that annoying playboy managed to get into lots of things he shouldn't be able to get into, so Fury wouldn't bet on it. The boy had showed up randomly about four or five years ago. He and his sister, Bianca, attended a military school, Westover Hall, for a few months. Around Christmas break they vanished without a trace. The last people to see them mentioned three strangers and one other student were the last people they'd hung out with. Coincidentally, Percy was one of the 'strangers'. Bianca was never seen again, but Nico began to pop up all over the place. He showed up in Manhattan about a year later. Some security feed had showed him climbing in the window of Sally Jackson's house. Later, he began appearing around Italy. He showed up with Percy around Mt. Saint Helens a few weeks before it erupted. The most peculiar piece about the boy was his ability to disappear one place and show up at another, impossibly fast. A little under a year ago he was seen in California, then, four hours later, he was seen in Manhattan. A few months ago, he was seen in California, and, less than a day later, in Italy. Nico seemed to have no family, besides his missing sister.

Percy's file on the other hand was quite the opposite. It was huge. Enough said. The boy had blown up a school bus with a revolutionary war cannon and dumped his entire class into a shark tank during a field trip before even graduated from elementary school. He'd been the subject of a nation-wide manhunt at the age of twelve. During that time he'd attacked three old ladies, blown up both a public buss and the Saint Lewis Arch and had a gun fight. Yet, it was all put down due to being kidnapped and brainwashed by an unknown kidnapper. No one tried to find the kidnapper. By the end of the next school year, he'd blown up his school gym and caused several injuries to the kids inside. The Christmas break after that he was seen charging into the Air and Space museum just before it was wrecked. During the summer following he set a school band room on fire. The list just kept going on and on. Fury didn't even want to think about all the things that the kid was probably involved in. He sighed and grabbed his comm.

"Agent Hill," he called.

"Yes, sir?" came the answer.

"I need Agent Romanov in my office immediately."

Nico groaned as he sagged against the door.

"And how long has this been going on?" he asked.

"Um... ever since we first met Pepper I guess," came the reply. Nico let out a strained breath. He couldn't decide whether to be angry with Percy or sympathetic for the dreams he'd been having.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked instead. The son of Poseidon looked away, a guilty look on his face.

"I... didn't think it was a big deal," he murmured. Nico glared at him.

"As if! You thought it was a big enough deal that you began to dislike the tower because of it! You woke up crying, you woke up scared-"

"Dreams always scare demi-" his sentence was cut off when his cousin shoved a hand over his mouth.

"Don't mention anything about _that_ in this place!" he hissed quietly, his eyes scanning the room nervously. "I found out that Pepper and Tony recorded the conversation from the alley. I got freaking _interrogated_ about who our- your uncle is!"

"What do you mean 'your-" again his sentence cut off.

"Not here!" the younger boy hissed. "You never know when they're watching!"

"Then, wouldn't they get suspicious of you being so secretive?" Percy asked.

"Shut up," Nico replied, glaring at him. His cousin laughed.

The son of Hades shook his head. "Glad you're having fun," he grumbled sourly. "I'm off to call Annabeth. She and Rachel in particular need to know about your dreams."

Percy looked at him, wide-eyed. "What?! You can't tell them! Annabeth'll kill me, then bring me back to life to kill me again, before she brings me to life to torture me forever!"

"She's not that bad," Nico said with a smirk. "Oh, wait, yeah she is." His cousin groaned.

The son of Hades shrugged. "Ah, well, better luck in your next life," he said. "You know, if you go for rebirth." He flicked his wrist in a wave as he opened the door and ran down the hall. The son of Poseidon groaned and face-palmed.

"They are _so_ gonna kill me," he grumbled.

Natasha sighed and brushed her hair out of her face as she looked at the tall building. Stark had yet to replace the letters that were damaged during the battle for Manhattan a few months ago, so Stark tower now only had the A up on top. She shook her head slightly and walked inside. She walked straight for the elevator.

Slipping inside, she called, "Jarvis, what floor is Tony on?"

There was a pause that lasted a few minutes. "He's on the top floor," came the final reply. Natasha nodded and pressed the button, part of her not believing the A.I.

She blinked in surprise when the elevator stopped on one of the higher floors. The doors opened, revealing a boy with black hair, dark eyes, and olive-skin. He wore black jeans, a black shirt, and a black aviator's jacket. A silver skull ring gleamed on his finger. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. He nodded curtly as he stepped inside the elevator.

"Nico!" someone shouted from down the hall. "Nico!" Another boy ran up. This one had sea-green eyes and windblown black hair. He was tall and muscular with a Mediterranean tan. This boy looked to be about eighteen. Natasha glanced at the boy in the elevator. So this was Nico di Angelo. He kind of seemed like the kind of kid who'd get into trouble or something. She glanced at the other boy as he climbed in, remembering from the picture who this was. Percy Jackson. She'd been assigned to hunt him down and bring him in when he was twelve. That had been called off when the manhunt ended. But he'd been good about covering his tracks for the first few weeks. After that, he seemed to like to be the center of attention. Natasha pushed those thoughts the back of her mind as the other boy climbed in beside his friend.

"Nico, come on! Please!" Percy complained.

Nico smirked at him. "Nope," he replied, popping his 'p'.

The older boy groaned. "But they are gonna kill me!" he complained.

"I'm looking forward to it," was the only response.

Percy crossed his arms and pouted. "You're just cruel," he whined.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm not Annabeth," he reminded him. "That won't work on me." The pout dropped from the boy's face as he glared at his friend.

"You're a jerk."

"I try."

It was then that Percy seemed to notice someone was riding with them for the first time. For a second, he smiled slightly at her. She had just began to smile back when the elevator 'dinged'. As the doors opened, Nico lunged to get out. Percy yelped and grabbed him. The two began to grapple. Percy seemed to be trying to keep Nico in the elevator, while the younger boy tried to get out. Natasha rolled her eyes and stepped out.

"Stark," she called. "We need to talk."

Tony seemed to consider that for a minute. "I'm free on Saturday," he suggested.

Natasha glared at him. "Now."

Tony groaned. "Jarvis," he said.

"Yes, sir?" the A.I. replied.

"Do all the talking, okay?"

"Of course, sir."

"I'm serious Stark," she said. "I need to talk to you. Do you have an office or some place that we can talk privately?"

Just then, the sound of something crashing echoed through the room. Nico dashed across the room to Pepper.

"Hey, can I borrow your phone?" he asked quickly and breathlessly. Percy ran over.

"Say 'no'," he begged. Pepper couldn't resist a confused chuckle.

"What is going on?" she asked. There was a brief silence.

Nico took a deep breath. "Well, Percy wants to see his cousin-" he began.

"No! I don't!" the other boy shouted. "After you talk to her, she'll tie me up, hang me from a tree, and shoot me full of arrows!"

"So I want to set it up so the whole group of our friends can get together, and to do that I need a phone."

Percy groaned. "Great, so not only will Thals try and kill me, Annie will too. Wonderful," he grumbled. "I'm in pain already." Nico smirked at him. Pepper couldn't hold in a laugh.

"Alright, alright. Yes, Nico, you can call your friends and set that up, but I want it here, so I can meet them," she told him. There was a long silence. It seemed to roar in everyone's ears. The tension was so thick coming off the two boys you could have cut it was a knife. Then they both started in at once.

"No, really it's okay! You don't have to meet them," Percy insisted.

"You don't want them to come here. The place would be rubbish before they even got started," Nico complained. And so it went for then next ten minutes. Pepper would say she wanted to meet them, and the boys would argue against it.

"Fine! I'll take you out for pizza and the pizza place can suffer," she decided finally.

"Who's paying?" Percy asked. She sighed.

"I'm paying. For you and your friends," she added, seeing their mouths open.

"That's gonna get really expensive," Nico couldn't help but point out. Percy shrugged.

"She offered," he replied with a grin.

"I'm only paying if I get to meet your friends," she told them. The boys glanced at each other. Judging by the looks on their faces, Natasha knew they were having some kind of quiet conversation. She guessed it went something like this:

_Do you think we can just ask them to behave for one night?_ (Percy)

_Well, maybe. I can put it off until later._ (Nico)

_So, we can go then?_ (Percy)

_I guess._ (Nico)

Percy grinned. "Alrighty then." He turned to Pepper. "You've got a deal," he said, solemnly holding his hand out to shake. Pepper took his hand for a second, then they both started laughing. She handed her phone to Nico, who began dialing a number. He walked a little ways away, and talked in a quiet voice, but Natasha caught some of what he said.

"-Grover to dinner," Nico was saying. "Our foster mom, Pepper's... That would be... Contact Thals for me... Can't I.M. here. Uh huh, bye." He began to dial another number, before holding it up to his ear. This time, Natasha caught even less of the conversation.

"Rachel," he began. "-Pizza... Ask." He set his hand over the microphone in the cell phone and called over to Pepper, "Where are we going for pizza?"

"I was thinking the Pizza Hut a few blocks down," she replied. He nodded before going back to his conversation.

"Near Stark... See... Need to talk... Oracle... Your dreams... Bye." He turned the phone back over to Pepper.

"I called Annie and Rach, they said they'll take care of Thals and Grover," he told Percy. The boy grinned.

"Sweet!" he said. Then he frowned, noticing Tony and Pepper staring at him. "What?" he asked.

Tony shook his head. "Nothing, just that you don't normally smile," he said.

Instantly, a glare shot from Nico's eyes. Percy's face seemed to lose all the joy it had held seconds before. He stuck his hands in his pockets, the barest hint of guilt on his face as he walked towards the elevator. Anger rolled off Nico in waves. He whirled around and glared daggers at Tony.

"Thanks a lot!" he spat, before turning and running after Percy. Natasha frowned.

"What was that about?" she asked.

Tony shrugged. "No idea," he replied.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Opening old scabs probably," she said. The spy nodded in understanding. That would make sense. They heard the elevator door close before anyone spoke.

"Tony, Pepper, I need to talk to you," Natasha said finally. "It's about your sons... and a call received from Bruce Banner." Tony suddenly seemed very interested in the flooring. _'Oh, no,'_ Pepper thought.

**AN: Okay, so, if you can't guess who's review I decided to use it was **The Storm Phase Alchemist**. I tweaked, but that's what authors do. At some point I'll probably upload a series of oneshot au's on how I could've written this chapter. It took for freaking ever to decide which one to do, and I pretty much wrote out every idea I had... so I have an entire document filled with The Meaning Of "Family" Chapter 6 rewrites. Oh well. As always, I love, love, LOVE! to see constructive crit. in your reviews, so review! Even if it is just "Oh, I like your story." You know, better if it has some ways for me to improve, but if you just want to review and say I liked it, or I didn't like or what not, GO AHEAD! See ya'll at the next update.**

**-RADyo**


	7. Chapter 7: How Thalia Found Out

**AN: Hello ya'll! I'm back! Wow, a new update only three days after the last one... Most of them have started getting farther between, four or five days... Yay! Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America! Anyway, I hope this does a little to ease your burning curiosity. Saphira Nograd and "Guest" (You didn't give another name), you're gonna hate me at the end of this chap. Oh well. It'll be a good hate... Hopefully. I totally realized that I haven't been responding to any of the reviews except for the occasional *Gasp* "the was the best thing I've heard" or when my muses encourage me to. So, although I will probably fail, I am going to try to answer some reviews at the end of this chap. **

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Percy sat on his bed, staring out the window to his room. The view was amazing. He could see the water from where he sat. But he didn't really see it. His eyes may have been staring at it, but his brain never comprehended what they saw.

_How could you?'_ he asked himself again and again. _'Your mom is _dead_ and you're walking around smiling, laughing and having a good time.'_

Annabeth's voice echoed in his head, _'Sally would want you to have fun, to move on. Don't forget her, but don't mope about it all day long. Don't hold yourself back about it.'_ A small part of his brain hissed that it was the dreams, the dreams were making him think this way. The dreams were making him so depressed. After all, he hadn't felt guilty about Bianca's death since The Battle of the Labyrinth, as the camp had dubbed it. He hadn't felt guilty about Bekendorf since talking with Annabeth after his death. So why now? After all he'd been through, he chose now to start blaming himself.

_'Idiot,'_ he heard Thalia grumble in his head. Part of him knew that if she were here, she'd stuff a few arrows in uncomfortable places and tell him to stop moping.

Percy ignored the sound of the door opening and closing softly. Someone, probably Nico, sat down on the bed behind him.

"Why are we even here?" Percy asked. When Nico didn't answer, he continued, "I mean, why couldn't we have gone and lived at camp, like Thalia did? I know lots a' kids at camp who don't have their mortal parent, so why couldn't we go live there?" He heard a sigh from behind him.

"I dunno Percy," his cousin answered.

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you have Shadow-traveled away by now?" He turned to look at the son of Hades. "Shouldn't you have gone to stay with your dad?" The younger boy just stared at him darkly for a minute.

"And shouldn't you have jumped out that window, called for your trusty stead, and flown back to camp by now? Because I haven't yet, that's why I'm still here," he answered. Percy sighed looking down at his lap. He chuckled drily, not hint of fun or amusement in his voice.

"It's funny, we can fight monsters and save the world again and again, and yet," He glanced out the window. "We can't do something as simple as run away from people who don't even know us."

"Well, if we ran away, I wouldn't be getting free pizza tonight," Nico tried. Although he'd intended it to be light and kinda funny, it came out dark and gloomy. Percy laughed anyway. The sound eased all worries and misgivings from the son of Hades's mind. It filled him with a warmth were there had only been avoid since his cousin had become so down. For a moment, he felt like he could have flown as high as Jason. Then he squashed the idea. Zeus would strike him down with lightning.

Then, with a spark on inspiration, Nico's eyes lit up.

"Hey," he said, tapping Percy's arm. "What if we went down to my dad's house and visited the new _guests_?" For a moment, he didn't understand. Then, his face broke out into a grin.

"Really? You don't think Uncle H would be too mad? Or at least, wouldn't make so we can't se them... can he even do that?"

"Percy, my dad's always mad. And no, he can't make it so you can't see a spirit. They die, and go to the underworld. Or maybe we should try Charon's place, since they might not have gone to the underworld..." He face-palmed, his rambling cutting off suddenly. "Of course! I'll just summon them!" Percy looked ecstatic as he listened to his cousin.

"When? When are we gonna do it? Technically you do it... whatever, when is it gonna happen?" he asked excitedly. Nico thought for a second.

"Tonight... I could do it tonight. Do you know anywhere that has a hole?" he asked.

"There's a park downtown with an abandoned pool, will that be enough?" Percy replied.

The son of Hades nodded slowly. "Yeah, it should be. We'll need some money so I can buy the offerings-" he was interrupted by snickers.

"Yes, we'll give Happy Meals to the dead," the son of Poseidon snickered. His cousin glared at him.

"Yes, we will. Deal with it. Now, back on track, we'll need money for the offerings, a way to be sure no one sees-"

"I'll just do that thing with the Mist. It usually works."

"Alright, so all we need is money to buy the offerings." Nico glanced at the clock and spouted some words that made Percy elbow him.

"Nico! Language!" the older boy hissed. The son of Hades rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, just get ready to go. It's almost time for me to go get Annabeth and Grover." Nico was on his way over to his side of the room, when a misty image appeared. Thalia smirked at them.

"Annie called and said you wanted me in New York tonight, what time and where? I'm sure Lady A could get me there... maybe," she muttered the last word, but they still heard it.

"Thals!" Percy hissed. "You can't be Iming us here!"

"Why not?" she asked, a cocky smirk on her face.

"They could see you!" the son of Poseidon replied.

"They recorded the conversation in alley!" Nico added darkly.

Thalia paled. "Oh, gods, no! What happened? How much do they know?"

Percy glanced at Nico, who glared at them both. "Not much thanks to me, but I was freaking interrogated! They wanted to know about your dads, and about Percy's family, and Tony's practically figured it out!"

"WHAT?!" both older teens shouted in surprise.

"Keep it down! He guessed who Thalia's dad was! He was 'Well, the only Z that could be Uncle Z in this is _him'_," he hissed angrily. "It's only a matter of time before he guesses everything!" The cousins looked at each other worriedly.

"I have to tell Lady A, we need to stop this. According to Annabeth, after talking with her and all that, Tony is teamed up with an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D, and they're bad news. They peek into everyone's business, and more than one of us have fallen due to them."

"What do you mean 'due to them'?" Percy asked.

"They don't stay out of people business, Percy. They've had a bunch of people arrested or killed because they wouldn't come peacefully, or they didn't know that much about them or whatever. Just, don't let Tony figure anything else out, and stay away from anyone who maybe working with them, got it?" The boys nodded mutely.

"Oh, meet us at the Pizza Hut near Stark Tower in an hour. See you then," Percy called, instantly slashing his hand through the image when a knock sounded on the door. He ran over and opened it, revealing Pepper in jean shorts, a white t-shirt, and flip-flops.

"When did you guys plan to meet up with your friends?" she asked.

"In an hour-ish," Percy replied. Nico slipped out the door.

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked.

"He has to go meet up with some of our friends and bring them to the Pizza Hut... assuming he doesn't get lost," the last part was muttered, and she didn't seem to notice. He grabbed the nearby teal t-shirt and slipped into it. His orange one went to the other side of the room. No sense giving them a further lead than he needed to. Pepper smiled at him, and he smiled back, slightly nervous. But Nico's promise to see his parents was in the back of his mind, and, with that knowledge, he could smile and be happy, at least for tonight.

"So, tell me about your friends," she encouraged. As they walked off, Percy began to tell her bare minimum about his friends, while including small things.

"Well, Thalia's like my sister. She's not always the friendliest, just warning you. Although, buying food would make her like you better. She's hard to describe. I guess you'll just have to meet her. And Grover has been my best friend since I was twelve..." he continued on and on, just telling little things.

* * *

**Unknown Pov:**

I watched them walk off, none of them noticing me. My red hair tickled my nose, but I remained still until they were gone from sight. Then I fixed my hair out of my face. I had purposely chosen the darkest corner. My comm was in my hand. _'Oh, I'm definitely going to have to call Director Fury,'_ I thought with a sigh. I wasn't sure what the two boys were up to, but it didn't bode well with me. Nothing good could come of it.

"I guess I have an engagement to get to tonight," I muttered as I slipped into their room and set up a camera. It was small, and put in the darkest shadow I could find that still covered the whole room, so I doubted anyone would see it.

Excitement rushed through my veins. Now, I was on the job, and no matter how hard they had tried, and probably would try, to keep anyone from knowing about something, they'd both just given me a lead and peaked my curiosity. This night certainly seemed to be working in the Widow's favor.

* * *

To say Percy was nervous would have been an understatement. Before him stood several of his closest friends, Thalia, Nico, Annabeth, Grover and Rachel, in front of his foster mom, Pepper. Percy felt like he had just introduced two nuclear bombs and was waiting for the inevitable explosion. He couldn't help but fell unsurprised when Annabeth stepped forward and held out her hand.

"So_ you're_ Pepper? It's nice to finally meet you!" she said. The woman blinked, staring at the blonde girl in front of her. A smile crossed her face in reply to the one the teen was sending her.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," she hesitated, as if waiting for the girl to be upset, but the blonde just shrugged, the smile never leaving her face.

"I'm Annabeth-" she began.

"She's Percy's girlfriend," Nico explained, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He obviously wanted this over as soon as possible.

He'd assumed they would get pizza then do introductions, but no. Pepper thought it would be better if everyone knew each other before they sat down to food. So there they stood, right outside the pizza place, smelling the wondrous scents, and being unable to so much as nibble at it. Pepper glanced at Percy who was staring pointedly at the ground. His expression was faced away from her, so she couldn't see it. But a part of her guessed that Percy wasn't comfortable with telling her that just yet. The girl with black hair groaned.

"Great," she muttered. "Now that she knows they'll be each others faces all evening!"

Nico groaned in response. "Oh, shut it Pinecone Face!" he grumbled.

The girl tensed at the name. "Watch it Death Breath!" she growled. Percy pushed in between them, one arm held out toward each teen.

"Hey! You both promised!" he hissed urgently. They both turned on him, their mouths open to tell him to drop it when the blonde, Annabeth shoved in between.

"I remember people being a little more tolerant of your agreements when you introduced us to other groups," she reminded them. "There were quite a few hunters the boys wouldn't have minded maiming, and you," She turned to Nico, "You should know better." Annabeth motioned for Percy to step back and he did. She whispered something urgently to the younger boy. His eyes went down cast and guilt flashed across his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking a few steps away to lean against the wall to the Pizza Hut.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, turning around to face Pepper. "You obviously know Nico and Percy, but this is Thalia," She waved a hand at the girl Nico had call 'Pinecone Face'. "Grover," Once more, she waved her hand, this time pointing to the only boy Pepper didn't know. "And Rachel." The redhead waved slightly.

"Now can we go inside and eat?" Nico grumbled. Percy and Thalia were quick to voice their agreement. Grover was just a heartbeat behind them. Pepper couldn't help but chuckle. The Percy she'd seen since knocking on the boys' bedroom door was nothing like the Percy she'd fostered, and she rather thought she liked this version better. His smiling face and warm chuckle made her feel like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If the boy she'd been slowly getting to know on the ride over was who he used to be... well, she had no doubt that he had fit in just fine with this crowd of mismatched kids.

"Alright," she agreed. "Now that we all know each others names, let's head inside." She chuckled once again as all but Annabeth and Rachel seemed to run for the door of the pizza place. The three girls followed behind the three cousins and the satyr. Annabeth chuckled as she hung back with Rachel.

"If the kids behave, this promises to be a very entertaining dinner," the oracle told her with a grin.

* * *

Tony sighed. He lay on the couch back at the tower. His talk with Natasha kept filling his mind.

_"We need to talk,"_ she had said. _"It's about your sons... and a call from Bruce Banner." _The second those words left her mouth, Tony could guess what she wanted to talk about. Mentally he hit himself upside the head for ever call Bruce. He should have known any mention of Loki would send him squealing to Fury. The talk replayed itself in his mind.

_**~Beginning~Of~Flashback~**_

_"What's wrong?" Pepper asked. Natasha glanced at her, before facing Stark. _

_"Fury received a phone call from Bruce Banner less than twenty four hours ago. Banner was talking about a call received in the middle of the night from Stark. Supposedly, all Stark asked was for him to describe Loki to him, a basic description. S.H.I.E.L.D wants to know why you called him." _

_Tony's throat felt clogged. "Oh, well," he said, waving his hand flippantly. "Just a random curiosity. I'm not a very simple mind, and it's hard for me to sink to your level, so I merely called someone who could." _

_Natasha didn't look so convinced. "Why did you ask?" she demanded. _

_Tony shrugged, not looking very concerned. "I wanted to," was the reply. _

_The spy didn't look convinced. "Second, we need to talk about your choice of foster children," she continued. "As a billionaire who is technically a member of S.H.I.E.L.D, only because of the Avengers so don't get your hopes up," she told him coldly when his eyes lit up. "Still, you've had access to top secret information, and thus, you need to watch who you allow into you house unsupervised. Terrorists are not the kind of people you should give free roam of your house to." _

_"But Percy has no criminal record," Tony reminded her. "Believe me, I've checked. There's no criminal record on either of them. Therefore, they're fine." _

_"Well, Fury says they're not 'fine'," she told him. "He wants you to send them back into the system. Even as only acquaintance members of S.H.I.E.L.D, it doesn't do for a terrorist to have free run of your house." _

_"And I told you, they don't have criminal records, thus, they aren't terrorists!" he replied. "Plus, Captain Eyepatch doesn't decide who comes into my house and who doesn't. Neither Jackson nor di Angelo has done anything that dooms them in my book." A mischievous glint gleamed in his eyes as he smirked. "In fact, Jackson in particular I'm rather fond of," he admitted. "The kid has the coolest history. Now, if we're done here, I have work to do." Tony stood up and walked away, heading for the elevator. He motioned for the spy to climb in. She stood stiffly and left, giving a short farewell to both Pepper and Tony._

_~End~Of~Flashback~_

It would have been inaccurate to say that Natasha was displeased by the conversation. If a spy could look angry and irritated, Natasha did at that moment. Oh, how Tony had enjoyed doing that. Calling Fury _'Captain Eyepatch'_ had been the highlight of his day. But on to the important stuff, he needed some booze after such a tense meeting. Tony stood from his couch and walked over to his bar. Time for relaxation.

* * *

**Okay, so I hope you guys liked it! I tried doing something a little different with the line breaks. Tell me if you like it or not, cause I can try just using / or xxx or something like that. Anyway, there is one little thing that I looked up today because it was bothering me... First, if you have ever reviewed this story, you get two major cookies of awesomeness for each review. Second, if you haven't reviewed this fanfic, and you've it or followed it, ya'll just confuse me. I've checked how many people have viewed the sixth chap of this fic. Over 675 people have gone all the way to the sixth chap. Only eight have reviewed. I'm am completely and utterly driven on by reviews people! I starve for them! (except when I eat food, I don't fell the hunger pains as bad then). But the point is, if you haven't reviewed this story at least once, yet you've read all the way up to chapter seven, or you've or followed it, what's the point? It makes me really sad when I check for new reviews the next day, and there are none. Now that I feel I have probably driven off all who will ever read this fic, let me respond to some of the reviews.**

**Guest reviews**

**BookFreak: I nearly died laughing when I saw your review. I was so happy, and thought you did that just like my dad would have! I'm glad you like it! I'm not sure if I like it as much as you do... Maybe I'm just being over critical of my work... But I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the encouragement!**

**Guest: I'm sorry you didn't get to see a lot of Pepper and the half-bloods. I got kinda worried about needing to have Tony talk about what happened with Natasha that I couldn't continue with their meeting. It was like some kinda magical, very temporary writer's block. Thanks for the review! It really helped me get motivated to write about the half-bloods.**

**Actual Users**

**letskilloctevian: Yeah, I feel bad for you guys... It made total sense to me because I knew who Tony called... Your review reminded me I need to mention that somewhere. Thanks for reminding me!**

**frejane: I hope he isn't too ooc. Probably a little, but I really did try to get him right after reading how you liked that he'd been more accurate in this one! Thanks for the encouragement I needed to try harder with Nico!**

**Glossette: I hope you did wait. Otherwise, you just might have to take Rachel's job... And that would be sad. Sad for me and Rach. Thanks for the compliment on my writing! (At least that's what I thought it was...)**

**Saphira Nograd: Sorry, seeing Natasha completely tear their secrets apart will have to wait for later... As will the meeting between Pepper and the half-bloods... I disappoint myself by making me wait... *sigh* I hope I didn't fail in writing one of your fav. avengers too badly. I'm not too good at writing her kind of personality. O.M.G. Your enthusiasm in your review was a kick in the bum that told me to get moving on this chap! I can't tell you how much I wanted to pick up the next book in Ranger's Apprentice Series, but I told myself to work on the chapter instead! Until I went to bed... I stayed up way too late to finish the book... But the chapter is here!**

**sweetchick621: Thanks! It was really encouraging to read your review and see that someone really liked my story!**

**Protagonist Of Life: I hope you feel better about the Happy coming back a little in this chapter. We'll see if this'll stick or not. Tony might wrench it away again :(**

**And thus come the end of the reviews... Sad, I know, I wish there were more too. So you know what you need to do? REVIEW! Till next time ya'll. I will stop writing before the AN's become longer than the chapter.**

**-RADyo**


	8. Chapter 8: Murder and Motherly Ghosts

**AN: Hey ya'll, I'm back! You know, after almost a week or so... But here's the next chap, which I'm sure you've all been dying to have. A little bit of the Half-bloods and Pepper. **

**Disclaimer: I'm gonna stop doing these one of these days. But in the mean time, I couldn't have written PJO, cause I would've made myself a character and then made Nico my boyfriend... And Tony and Steve would get along a lot better...**

Annabeth was curled up against her boyfriend's side in the booth seat, Percy eating sausage and his girlfriend holding peperoni. Rachel sat next to them, nibbling on her own slice of peperoni pizza. Across from them, Thalia and Nico were inhaling their third cheese pizza, almost literally. Grover was slowly eating another piece of vegi pizza. Pepper sat on a chair on the end of the table. Her plate was empty. Laughter echoed around the table. Percy was laughing, Grover was grinning, and Rachel was chuckling. After seeing Percy so down ever since she'd met him, she couldn't help but laugh whenever he did. His friends were amazing at cheering him up. Jokes that flew right over Pepper's head had been cracking him up for over half-an-hour.

Now however, they seemed to have run out of jokes, glancing at Pepper every time they began. Grover, Nico and Percy seemed to be rather uncomfortable with her sitting on their dinner, and couldn't help but glance at her every time a joke was cracked, making sure nothing seemed wrong. The girls were more subtle with their discomfort. They only glanced at her when the jokes seemed really, really sensitive, or when someone stopped mid-sentence.

Pepper tried to ignore the awkward silence that followed the laughter. The buzzing of the other visitors talking amongst themselves made the quiet all the more unbearable. Then, almost suddenly, Percy's eye caught something. He stared out the window for a moment, before turning to slide out.

"Excuse," he said, "Nature calls." Pepper chuckled slightly, but watched him walk off uncertainly. He walked past a side exit to the building and slipped into the bathrooms. She turned her attention back to the others. Grover was lightly sniffing the air.

"Something wrong, Grover?" she asked. The boy was shaking his head almost instantly.

"Nope! Nothing wrong. Just, uh, you know, smelling the pizza," he offered lamely. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Something is very wrong with you G-man," she muttered. Nico glanced out the window, before seizing the opportunity to smirk at the black haired girl.

"You're even worse, Pinecone Face," he replied. His eyes vaguely twitched in direction of the window. Pepper couldn't quite read his expression, but it seemed to be saying something to Thalia. The girl twitched her head in the vaguest nod of acknowledgment. She stood up in her seat, glaring at the boy beside her.

"You really wanna go, Death Breath?" she growled.

"Whenever you're ready!" he snapped. Annabeth groaned, her eyes switching from the window over to her two friends.

"Can we not go there?" she asked. Pepper glanced out the window, looking for what caught the kids attention. She found it quickly.

Percy stood in a nearby alley, face-to-face with a tall, muscular man. She could only see a black shadow where the man stood, unable to make out what color his hair was, or even the color of his skin and clothing because of the long shadows of twilight. The boy seemed to get aggravated, pointing down the alley angrily. The stranger swung a left hook at him. Percy dropped to a crouch, swiping the man's feet from beneath him. He fell and the boy stood to move away from him. The stranger grabbed his ankle and yanked him down to the ground. Percy turned to punch him, but the man jumped on top of him. The two began to wrestle briefly. The stranger was obviously stronger, over-powering his slighter built opponent. But Percy was as hard to hold onto as an eel. He slipped through the man's grasp like water. The first chance he got, the boy was on his feet and moving into the shadows of the alley. The man stood and grabbed a nearby trashcan, which happened to be one of the restaurant-style garbage disposal cans, and hurled it at the boy. The smaller figure dove to the side. The man started forward, but tripped on the edge of the thrown garbage bin. When he stood and came at him, Percy swung a baseball bat he hadn't been holding milliseconds before and swung it at the man's head. It smacked it with an inaudible _shwak!_ The head flew from the body, both falling into the deep shadows of the alley. The boy seemed to sigh and lean against the brick wall of the alley. The baseball bat vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

Pepper watched as her foster son walked back to the restaurant and ducked inside. Golden powder glittered in his hair and on his clothes. She glanced away as Percy glanced around him, watching him in her peripheral vision. She watched him head into the bathroom.

Percy emerged, his hair slightly wet, but free of golden glitter, and twirling a cheap ballpoint pen in his hand. Rachel stood and let him in. He slipped back into the corner and let Annabeth curl up against him again.

"How'd it… Seaweed Brain? … Problem?" Pepper heard the girl whisper in her boyfriend's ear. Percy lightly shook his head.

"... Nothing... handle..." He shook his head, a small disappointed smile on his face. "Too easy..." Fear pricked at Pepper's heart. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Percy and Nico into the tower. She'd just watched her eldest foster son kill a man. _'Who attacked him!'_ part of her mind argued. _'He swung the bat hard enough to decapitate the man!'_ another shouted in reply.

"-you okay?" Rachel was asked her. "Pepper?" The woman blinked, coming back to reality and dragging her gaze away from Percy. The boy stared at her, slightly confused.

"Yeah, yeah, just, uh, thinking. That's all," she assured them. Thalia and Nico shrugged, going back to eating, their previous argument apparently forgotten. Pepper glanced at the other kids. Something was bothering her, nagging her at the back of her mind, but she couldn't remember what it was. Suddenly, as if a light bulb went off, she remembered.

"So, Percy, Nico," she started, "How'd you two meet?" The two boys froze eating. They glanced at each other nervously.

"…" Nico didn't reply, instantly shoving another bite of food into his mouth to avoid the question. Percy, however, had just finished his piece.

"How we met? Oh, uh, well, we met at Nico's school," he replied after a moments hesitation. The other boy instantly nodded agreement, a little too enthusiastically.

"What were you doing at Nico's school?" the woman asked.

"Well, we were... visiting Grover, who also went to Nico's school."

" 'We?' " she asked. "I thought it was just you."

"No, see, uh... Annabeth and Thalia went with me. We're all old friends of his, so we went to visit him for Christmas break," he said, glancing over at the two mentioned. They nodded along.

"Yup," Thalia continued. "We went to see him because he wasn't having too much luck making friends."

"And then we met Nico," Annabeth added.

"And after that, we just kinda stayed in touch," Percy finished. Everyone but Rachel nodded.

"I was saved that experience," she said when she noticed Pepper's questioning glance. The woman nodded in response. The sun had set, leaving no light to come in through the window. Nico and Percy glanced at each other and nodded slightly. Annabeth and Rachel noticed this exchange, glancing at each one another.

"Well," Nico began.

"This has been fun," Percy continued.

"But it's time we got going," his friend concluded. The others seemed to shrug and move to stand up. Thalia shoved the last half slice of pizza from her hand into her mouth.

"Well, I'm headed home," she said. "Lady A will be wondering what I'm up to."

"Same thing with us," Annabeth added, giving Percy one last hug. "You know how Mr. D is if we break curfew." She walked over and grabbed Grover by the hand and pulled him slightly towards the door, following Thalia.

"And my parents will be looking for me by now," Rachel added, following after them. She stopped briefly next to Percy. Setting a hand on his arm, she leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You really, really need to come over at some point. Soon. We need to talk." As an after thought she added, "Be careful at the fountain. Watch your back." And with that, she turned and walked out the door after the others. Percy and Nico glanced at each other, before heading after them.

"Just where d'ya think you're going?" Pepper asked them. They glanced at each other.

"The cemetery," they both replied solemnly, before continuing out of the restaurant.

"Will you need a ride?" she called after them.

There was no reply.

Pepper sighed. "Guess you're going home alone," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Percy and Nico walked only to the alley, before slipping into the shadows.

"Ready?" Nico asked, taking his cousin's hand. The other boy nodded, allowing himself to be pulled into the shadows and swallowed by the darkness. They both appeared, seconds later, in a deserted park. A deep, empty fountain sat before them. Holding out his hand, Nico glanced meaningfully at his cousin, who handed him a ten. The boy nodded vaguely, before vanishing just as he had before. Percy sat down to wait for his cousin's return. He couldn't help but smile sadly. Tonight was the night. He was gonna ask her. He was gonna ask his mom how she really felt. Would she really be okay with him having a new mom and dad? Even just a new foster mom and dad? Was he abandoning her by doing this? Was he replacing her with Pepper?

Thoughts filled his head and a frown replaced his sad smile. Questions that hadn't occurred to him bubbled to the surface of his thoughts. Doubts about his own loyalty to his mom. Doubts about his dreams. Doubts about his actions, about his new life.

_"You need to stop doubting yourself before I shove an arrow up your ace!"_ he could practically hear Thalia snap. He sighed, wishing for Nico to return so they could summon her already.

* * *

**Natasha's ****Pov:**

I sat in a tree near the fountain, waiting for the boys to arrive. I was startled when they walked out of a tree. _'No,'_ I told myself. _'Not out of a tree, out of a tree's shadow. They were hidden by the trees, that's all.'_ I couldn't bring myself to believe it. The older boy handed the younger one, and he turned back the way they'd come. The older one, Percy, sat down on the ground, a small smile appearing on his face. I couldn't help but notice how sad a smile it was. Within seconds the smile changed to an uncertain frown. He seemed to be contemplating something serious. I shrugged it off and sat back, watching him, as I waited for the other boy, Nico, to return.

It wasn't too long in coming. Percy stood quickly when he saw his friend. The younger boy carried a six pack of coke and three or four, possibly more, McDonald's happy meals. I frowned. Why did they need those?

The younger boy nodded to his friend, who snapped his fingers. A small gust of wind blew through the clearing. Even from a hundred yards away, I could still feel it. Percy's voice carried through the entire clearing, reaching my ears easily.

"All you'll see here is two boys have a friendly picnic," he demanded. A brain numbing fog crept through my mind, pushing all thoughts except of two boys having a picnic away. _"There is nothing wrong with this,"_ it whispered. _"They're just enjoying a picnic."_

I watched, only slightly paying attention as the younger boy poured the six pack into the fountain, then added the happy meals. _"Nothing's wrong here,"_ the fog whispered soothingly. _"You only see the boys having a picnic."_ For a moment, I wasn't sure if I saw anything. I completely forgot. I forgot what I was doing here, I forgot what the boys had done, I only remembered seeing two boys on a picnic by the empty fountain.

Then the chanting started. I shook my head and cleared it. The fog receded slightly, but I could still feel it lurking at the back of my mind, whispering about boys and picnics. The chanting doesn't sound English, but I can't name the language. It was slightly familiar and I felt I should know it, but I couldn't pin it down. It sounds old, ancient even. Nico is chanting, his arms raised, as he stands by the fountain. Coke had filled the fountain, b

ubbling and frothing at the edges.

I watched in disbelief as mist and fog filled the park. Forms began to appear, barely visible to me. Percy stepped forward, his expression one of both sadness and happiness. He almost even relieved. He stepped toward one of the forms, but Nico stopped him. The chanting didn't falter, but it was clear the older boy wasn't allowed near the forms, yet. Percy nodded understanding. Suddenly, the chanting stops. One form approached them, and bent down, sipping the coke. The misty form took shape, turning into a woman in her mid-forties with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked soft and kind. She stood and looked at the two boys across the fountain from her.

I barely noticed the tears that began to streak down Percy's cheeks. It took me a moment to realize, she was his mother. Or at least a likeness to her. The boys began to talk to her, to ask her questions I couldn't quite hear. I caught the occasional piece. Most of them went something like:

"Okay... Pepper and Tony... Betrayed..." Percy asked.

"... Go.. life... father... want..." the woman replied.

"Thanks... Love... Try..."

"Just... happy... living... life... proud..."

They continued to talk for a while, until the forms began to fade. Nico touched Percy's arm.

"... Finish... power... go," I caught pieces of the broken sentence. The older boy nodded, waving sadly at his mother. He said something, but I couldn't hear him.

Slowly, the forms vanished into the mist. And shortly after that, the foggy mist began to fade. Nico swayed in place, before falling into Percy's waiting hold. The older boy smiled slightly at the small figure in his grasp.

"Don't worry... tower," I heard him tell the boy. And like that, the two walked into the woods.

I sat back against the tree I sat in, shell shocked. The fog pushed at my mind, insisting that I'd never seen that, but I knew otherwise. No matter what anyone told me, I knew I'd just seen two boys try to summon the dead. And it looked like it worked. _ 'Oh, Fury is so gonna kick outta this,'_ I thought.

* * *

**AN: And that's a wrap! Hope ya'll liked it. I felt like it took me forever to just get this little bit. I wanted it to be longer... but life is. And now, to take care of responding to reviews. In case anyone is wondering why I'm responding to you, not the guests, in the AN's it's cause I don't trust myself to be able to respond to your review any other way and still remember ya'll.**

**Guest Reviews:**

** JarvisAI: I'll try to keep your names in mind, so I can know on my own. I'm glad you like the concept. I hate those kind of stories too. I refuse to write a story where the half-bloods just kinda announce they're half-bloods. Why not just shout it in front of a camera man rather than tell Tony? I'm glad! I try very hard to be unique! In deed, in deed. Only time will tell why Loki is interested in our favorite son of the sea god, but I will explain... eventually. Yeah, I was wondering whether to destroy the pizza hut or not the entire chapter. You did succeed in being sarcastic but funny. It worked.**

** Fortflames12: I thank you very much for all eleven of your wonderfully positive reviews! I love it when people review my story! I actually prefer reviews to favorites or follows. Yes, I am a girl.**

** Guest: I'm glad you like it!**

**Actual Users:**

** Saphira Nograd: I'm glad you think I did a good job with Natasha! I thought she was kinda hard to write. I kept saying "And she thought" rather than "And I thought". It was crazy. I had to redo the whole part in first person after writing it in third person.**

** Glossette: I liked that part too!**

** Protagonist Of Life: My mom thought it was funny too.**

** Willowsoar: I'll take that as a compliment ;)**

** monkeybaby: I am American, so thank you. I'm glad you liked it.**

** My Darkest Night: I totally forgot I had to do that... I kept thinking "Oh, I should have him do this after they meet" and "Oh, he should do this in a dream" But I never stopped to think about them meeting... Thanks for reminding me! I'm glad you're happy to see an update, so am I!**

** nobody0901: I'm glad you like my writing style! Thank you, thank you, the cookie was very good!**

** letskilloctevian: First off, I love your user name! Thalia found out that Tony practically knew who she was and what not. Other than that, I kinda needed a name that vaguely fit the chapter. I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D will do either, but Fury doesn't like to listen to a lowly author like myself. So he might do one of those things. **

** ObsessedWithPercyJackson: I totally understand getting caught up and not review until the last chapter. I do the same thing. I was talking about people that favorite or follow and don't review even after several chapters. I'll try to work some on the typos. Although, one question for you, who do the half-bloods keep their secrets from? I thought they just kinda used the mist to make no one remember the stuff that happened, and let the gods and Chiron take it from there. Plus, S.H.I.E.L.D is S.H.I.E.L.D. They practically know everything anyway. **

** devilchild1000: I'm glad it's been great! Here's more!**

** Mathematical-candy-panda: Yeah, I guess I really do have a lot of reviews, at least fromm what I've been told... But I mean, I have guests that review and stuff like that, yet I have way more registered followers than I do reviews. My point is that if you're gonna take the time to follow, and check your e-mail every day or so to see if I've updated, you should at least put in a few measly words and hit the send button. I totally see your point on writer's block. I think I'm over it now, just got a little stuck with the half-bloods. I don't think you're review was too long. I prefer long reviews actually!**

** Black Shadow Tigress: I'm glad you like this! I hope you liked what happened next.**

**I'll stop writing before I make the AN's longer than the chapter. See ya'll later!**

**-RADyo**


	9. Chapter 9: The climax of cat and mouse

**AN: Back again! Here's the next one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or avengers.**

Percy sighed as he dragged a nearly unconscious Nico into the tower. They'd taken the alley entrance so as not to attract too much attention. They headed straight for the elevator.

"Good evening, sirs," Jarvis's voice rang through the elevator once the doors closed. Percy jumped and Nico groaned. The older boy shook his head in embarrassment.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," he grumbled. "Good evening Jarvis."

"I shall alert Tony that you are back. Should I call a hospital for Nico?"

"No," Percy nearly shouted. He cleared his throat, realizing his awkward mistake. "No need Jarvis. He just needs some food and some sleep. He does this if he overexerts himself. Also, don't worry about telling Tony we're back. We'll just head to our room and get food in the morning."

"Very well, I shall inform Tony you're headed to your room."

"Naw, don't worry about telling him anything, we'll take care of it in the morning," Percy argued.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm required to update Mr. Stark on everything that happens," Jarvis explained. The son of Poseidon groaned but nodded in understanding.

"Thanks, I guess," he mumbled as the doors opened. He looped his cousin's arm around his shoulders and helped, practically dragged, him back to their room. Once there, he set the smaller boy on his bed. He reached over and pulled a canteen out of the bed stand. He opened the lid and leaned his cousin's head back, gently trickling some past his slightly parted lips.

Percy slipped the lid back into place. Shaking the canteen, he sighed.

"That stuff is amazing," Nico muttered from his spot on his bed, curling up into the blankets. His cousin shrugged.

"Yeah, well," he started, "Don't get too used to it. You know how bad this stuff is for you in larger quantities. Drat, I need to get some more from camp... What've you got?"

"Some ambrosia in my jacket. I used up all my nectar after my last fight," the younger boy admitted, still curling up in his covers.

"I forgot my ambrosia at my mom's when we went on the run. I forgot to pack it," Percy said sheepishly. Nico grunted, rolling over in his bed.

"G'night," his cousin chuckled, walking over to his own bed. _'Well,'_ he thought, _'At least Tony won't video tape us in our own room.'_ A younger voice mumbled the same words on the other side of the room, making Percy chuckle again. He curled up in his bed and was asleep within minutes.

* * *

Tony watched the video over and over again.

_"__I forgot my ambrosia at my mom's when we went on the run. I forgot to pack it," _Percy said to the other. Tony instantly hit rewind, going back to the beginning of the chapter. Once again, the 'camp' had appeared in conversation. Part of him was worried. _'How is the stuff bad for them in large quantities? What's so bad about it?'_ he wondered. _'Looks like I need to test it.'_

His mind took him back to his conversation with Natasha earlier that night. Had he been wrong to defend them? What if they really were terrorists or something? Had he just said that to anger Fury? _'No, I didn't do that just to get to him,'_ the more reasonable part of him said. _'For good or bad, those kids, no matter how short a time they've been here, have grown on me. After all the research I've done on them, I feel like I know them...'_ He couldn't help but chuckle. Maybe those kids had grown on him. There was nothing wrong with that right? After all, they're good kids.

* * *

Percy groaned tiredly. The night had felt too short. For a moment, he couldn't remember what had woken him. He'd gone to sleep and then... He shot, fear pulsing through his veins like blood. Terror reduced his body to trembling.

_"__Just help me,"_ a voice echoed in his head.

"No!" he screamed, his eyes jolting opened. His face gleamed with sweat.

_"__I await you. Come back to the fountain tonight."_ Percy's whole body trembled as he remembered the dreams. So real they _hurt_. Rather seeing it on tv, like he had in real life, _that man_ had dragged to see the real thing.

Percy saw the lights. He heard the sirens as they chased the speeding car. He felt the rain as it splattered down in an unending curtain. He could see the blue Prius make the turn to avoid the swerving car. He saw the speeding car slip as the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the Prius. He heard the _crunch!_ as the cars smashed into each other. He saw the looks of terror and worry that flashed across the faces of the passengers of the Prius. Those brown eyes that widened with terror. The face that would haunt him forever. The one last look his parents had worn before they were crushed.

A hand settled on his shoulder, shaking him back and forth.

"Percy?" Pepper's worried face appeared in front of him. He jolted back with a yell of surprise, tumbling off his bed on the opposite side of her. He felt the stream of tears die off because of his shock. He hastily wiped them away. He could hear her trying to contain a chuckle.

"What's up?" he asked, standing up and grabbing a shirt to slip on. He noticed the way her eyes lingered on the scratches and cuts that marred his skin.

"Tony and I need to talk to you," she said nervously.

Percy frowned, sitting back down on his bed. "Is something wrong?" he wondered.

"We just need to get a few things straight, that's all." She wouldn't look him in the face. The son of Poseidon glanced over at Nico, who was still asleep. Seemingly, he was unaware of what was happening on the other side of the room.

Slowly, Percy stood and followed his foster mom from his room. She led him down the hall, and into the elevator. He shuffled once the doors closed, pulling his pen out of his pocket and turning it over and over in his hands nervously. It wasn't often he got into trouble with adults... Strike that, he was always in trouble with adults. But he didn't _want_ to be in trouble with these adults. He wanted to live out his life until he turned eighteen semi-peacefully. Then he could do what he wanted to.

When the elevator opened, Pepper motioned for Percy to head into the room. Glancing at her worriedly, he stepped out of the elevator and walked into the room. It was the large living room area he had spent a large amount of time in a couple days ago. Tony stood next to one of the chairs.

Percy gulped, glancing around the room. "Am I in trouble?" he asked.

"I don't know," Tony answered. "Should you be?"

"Not that I can think of," he replied, trying to moisten his dry mouth.

"Okay, so just answer me a few questions," the man decided. "What's camp?"

Percy froze, his eyes widening. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice would work better if he did. "It's a camp..." he tried weakly.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I gathered. What kinda camp?"

"A beach camp."

"Hm... Who teaches the camp?"

"No one."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Someone has to teach it."

"No, it's just... a group name. It's one of the names my friends and I call ourselves when we go to the beach."

"Is it?"

"Uh, yeah."

"What's Nectar?"

Percy's eyes widened and he coughed. "What?" he asked, his voice rasping.

"You heard me, what's Nectar?"

The son of Poseidon pounded his chest, trying to clear his throat. "Oh, yeah, that."

"Yeah, that."

"It's a drink. Kinda like home made cool-aid."

"How d'ya make it?"

"I dunno. My... cousin makes it for us."

"What's your cousin's name?"

"Thalia."

Pepper stepped forward. "What happened in the alley last night?"

Percy jerked forward, his eyes widening as he coughed, pounding his chest. After a minute he stood up straight. "What?" he asked.

She looked him straight in the eye. "What happened outside that Pizza Hut?" she demanded.

The look of a confused, scared animal crossed Percy's eyes, before it vanished. Even though it was only a flash, Tony knew he saw it. There was something that scared him, something he didn't want them to figure out. But what he didn't know was whether Percy was scared _of_ them, or _for_ them.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about," he said, shaking his head. "I was at the table the whole night, except for using the restrooms."

Pepper shook her head at him. "No, you weren't. I saw you in the alley, with the bat, and the man. What. Happened?"

Tony glanced back and forth between his wife and his foster son. "What's going on here?" he asked finally.

"I- I don't know-" Percy began.

"What HAPPENED?" she demanded.

"Nothing!"

"WILL SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Tony shouted over Pepper's and Percy's raised voices.

"I don't know!" the boy shouted back, panting.

Pepper looked straight at Percy. "Last night, while sitting in Pizza Hut with his friends, I saw Percy stand, saying he needed to use the facilities and leave. He walked past an exit to the building before disappearing into the bathroom-"

"See?! In the restroom!" Percy insisted.

"Then," she continued, "I noticed his friends looking out the window. So I glanced out and saw Percy standing face to face with a tall, muscular man. I couldn't make out anything about the man, but they seemed to get into an argument. Percy pointed off down the alley angrily and the man punched at him. He responded by sweeping his feet from under him. They wrestled for a little while, before the man threw a _garbage_ _bin_ at him. After a little more fighting, Percy grabbed a baseball bat from somewhere in the alley and swung it hard enough that the man's head came off!"

"No, I didn't!" Percy insisted. "I didn't kill any man!"

Tony looked back and forth between the teenage boy and the woman before him. His brain was running a million miles a second. He knew he should trust Pepper, believe that the boy killed a man, and turn him over to the police, but part of him, his childish side, thought about the faces Natasha and Fury would give him when they heard about it. He could hear the "I told you so"s already. Another part of him, a more grown up- almost teen like- side of him thought of what Pepper had said.

After a few seconds, he asked, "The man threw the first punch, right?"

Pepper nodded.

"And made no attempt afterward to end the fight by means of a peaceful solution?"

She shook her head.

"Did Percy try to stop the fight by any other means than violence?"

Pepper sighed. "He tried to move away from him at the beginning of the fight," she admitted.

Tony shrugged. "Then write it off as self-defense. The man attacked him, wouldn't leave him alone, and, finally, Percy did the only thing he could do to make the man stop. He hit him with a baseball bat, intending to knock him out and get away, but swung too hard and killed him," he reasoned.

Percy looked back and forth nervously. "Do we even need a cover story? I mean, I don't think any one will know anyway..."

Both adults instantly whirled around and looked at him. "You admit it!" they both shouted.

"What? No! I didn't do anything to admit about! I never left the Pizza Hut! I'm just saying that because I didn't do anything, nothing will appear on the news, no missing people, no murder mysteries, nothing. Cause I didn't kill a man in an alley," Percy argued.

"Sir," Jarvis's voice broke into the conversation. "Director Nick Fury is riding up the elevator. I was unable to stop him, sir."

Tony put his head in his hands. "Great," he grumbled, before turning to Percy. "Take the stairs, go back to your room, and wait there. We aren't finished with this conversation."

The boy nodded numbly, before turning and walking towards one of the other doors, the stairs. He froze when a man's voice called out, "Stop right there Perseus Jackson. We need to talk." The word 'talk' was spat like a curse. He swallowed, before turning around to see who had spoken. Natasha stood beside a tall, black man with an eye-patch. _'It's Ethan all over again!'_ Percy couldn't help but groan inside. The man glared at him with his good eye.

"Where's the other one, di Angelo?" he snapped.

"Sleeping," Percy replied instantly, without thinking. He cursed mentally.

The man looked at Natasha. "Bring him up here to me," he told her.

Percy glared as the woman turned away to do as she was bid. "Just who the Hades do you think you are?! You can't just go disturb him without first explaining yourself!" he snapped, walking forward. Tony grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back behind himself.

"Stay out of this, kid," he told the boy, placing himself between the upset kid and the angry, business-like Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

**AN: MUST READ!**

**Sorry that it probably left you with a lot of q's, but oh well. I won't be able to update for a while, since I'm leaving for stuff for 2-3 weeks w/o electronics. I promise that by a month from tonight, I will update again, if not sooner. But I won't be able to update for a while. I'm not abandoning this, I will update again!**

**-RADyo**


	10. Chapter 10: The Black Shadow

**AN: Hey yo! I'm baaaccckkkk! Yeah, I know, it took forever, but here I am, and I'm earlier than I thought it would be too! So yay! But anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, because it took a lot of work. I had to rack my brain to get the right music for the different themes of this chap. I'm so proud of myself, I wrote this in one day! Yay! You may even get to see some other half-bloods we haven't seen in this so far. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Avengers**

Tony grinned easily. "Hey Captain Eyepatch, was up?"

Fury ignored him in favor of turning to Natasha. "Bring me the other boy," he instructed her.

"Leave Nico alone," Tony glared at her.

She met his glare with an even look. "No," she said simply. "He's a suspicious character who's being brought in for questioning."

"He's _fourteen_!" Percy argued.

Pepper touched his shoulder. "Let Tony and I deal with this, okay?" she said. _"No!" _Percy wanted to shout. _"He's my cousin, and I _will_ protect him! I can stop them!"_ But he knew he couldn't. Not even he was powerful to manipulate the mist to cover up water attacking people. He'd seen that in sixth grade. Natasha ignored them and headed for the elevator. Percy's heart rate sped up. He had to get down to Nico first and warn him! But how...

Percy turned and bolted from the room, heading for the stairs. A gun shot rang from behind him, but he just dove through the door and closed it behind him. He only noticed the bullet sized hole in the door because of his ADHD. He ran and hopped onto the railing, sliding down it like a slide. He ran for all he was worth when he got down to the right floor. Only one thing mattered. Getting Nico out of harms way.

_His_ latest vision began to haunt the boy's head. In his mind's eye, he saw Nico laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with life-less eyes. Bullet holes riddled his chest. Blood stained the bed and the floor. He could hear _his_ voice whispering in his ear. Telling him he'd not only failed Bianca, but Nico too. Tears began to fill Percy's eyes, but he shook them off, determined to protect his young charge. He may have failed with Bianca, but not with Nico. No, he _would_ protect Nico, no matter the cost.

Percy burst into the room, making Nico groan at the noise.

"Get up! Now!" he shouted anxiously. He grabbed his Nectar and shoved it into a knapsack, doing the same with a pair of clothes for himself and Nico. When his cousin groaned and rolled over, he scooped him up bridal style. Nico's eyes flew open.

"Hey! Hey! Put me down!" he demanded. Percy turned when other people entered the room. His eyes were wide with fear. The black man from upstairs had a gun in his hand. Natasha also held a gun. Tony and Pepper were no where to be seen. Vaguely, the son of Poseidon hoped they were alright, before his mind came back to the more important things. Percy back up to the window, tightening his grip on his cousin.

"Let him go, son," the man said, his voice softer than it had been upstairs. "We just have a few questions to ask you." Percy glared at him, his eyes flickering all around the room, from face to face and gun to gun.

"The shooting makes me feel so comfortable," he replied sarcastically, his grip once again tightening on his cousin. Nico wiggled a little, trying to free himself. Percy set his lips right next to the boy's ear.

"Go to your dad's house. Stay there until I call for you," he instructed.

Nico's eyes widened. "What? No! I'm not gonna-"

"It's that or go to camp!" Percy snapped.

The son of Hades gulped as he looked into his cousin's eyes. There was something there he'd hoped to never see again. It was an icy anger, mixed with burning desire to protect. It made Nico's blood run cold, as well as make him burn with fear of what his friend might do.

"Choose, your dad, camp, or the legion!"

Nico nodded glumly. "I'll visit Hazel," he said quietly.

Relief passed through Percy's eyes.

"You're not going anywhere," the black man growled, pointing a gun at them. Percy's eyes widened.

"Now!" he shouted, turning and shoving Nico into a shadow. The boy stumbled and fell into the wall. Two gun shots rang through the room. The son of Hades grabbed his cousin's hand.

"You're coming too!" he growled. Percy gave the barest of nods. Nico relaxed and stepped deeper into the shadows, beginning to shadow-travel. Percy ripped his hand from his cousin just as he vanished, so the older boy stayed behind.

He smirked victoriously at the people before him. He whistled. It was a New Yorker's whistle, loud enough to be heard by the human ear for at least a mile. "You can't touch him now," he promised.

"But you're coming with us," the man replied. Percy shook his head tiredly.

"I won't be going anywhere with you," he said, clutching a bleeding arm. He jumped backwards, breaking through the window and falling back towards the ground. The two adults rushed to the window, looking down to see the seventeen year old fall through the air. About five meters off the ground, a black shadow swooshed underneath him, and he vanished. The only things left behind were a black feather as it floated slowly to the ground and two very confused and pissed off members of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

Nico turned to grin at his cousin.

"We made it," he said as he turned. Then dread filled him. There was no one behind him. Percy wasn't there.

Nico stared brokenly at his hand, noticing a small red smudge. He sniffed his hand, wincing when he smelled a familiar coppery tang. Blood. He stopped and focused for a minute, feeling for his cousin's soul in the underworld. He could feel that Percy was still alive, still very much alive.

Anger boiled in his stomach. He couldn't decide whether to be pissed at the cousin that sent him on alone, at himself for not realizing Percy would do that, or at S.H.I.E.L.D for causing the mess in the first place. No matter what, he knew what he had to do.

The son of Hades stepped back into the shadow he had emerged from and a was gone in an instant, leaving no trace of himself except for a lone foot print in the dirt.

* * *

Tony soared around the building, just in time to see his foster son falling to his doom. He raced down, putting all power to his thrusters, hoping to save the boy he'd come to care about. When he was about a hundred feet from the boy, a black shadow raced by, catching the teen and carrying him off. Tony watched it, shell-shocked for a moment, before chasing after the shadow. The black creature flew back up into the sky, higher than the clouds. Tony soared after it.

When he broke through the clouds, he was met with a sight only described in story books. His foster son was smiling peacefully, hugging the neck of the black shape. His black hair really lived up to its description 'wind blown'. Up in the sky, the wind shoved it every which way. A leather necklace Tony had never seen before hung around the boy's neck, shivering in the wind.

But the part that made the scene one from a fairy tale was the black creature that seemed to run on air. A horse as dark as midnight seemed to run across the clouds, its black tail and mane whipping in the wind. Percy's right arm was around the horse's neck, a pleasant smile on his face as his lips moved. The horse's dark wings beat steadily, like a drum. The Pegasus threw back its head and neighed happily to the world. Percy laughed with it.

Then, halfway through his laugh, the boy grunted and curled up on himself. The Pegasus neighed worriedly, slowing from a gallop to a trot. The teen urged the magnificent creature to pick up its speed once more. Tony followed it without hesitation.

Then, suddenly and without warning, the two dove down through the clouds. Tony, trying to copy the sudden change in flight patterns, blinked in shock at where they came out. It was a simple park on the outskirts of down town. One of the old abandoned ones no one used anymore. A fountain sat on the edge of a clearing of trees at the top of a hill. It seemed to be full of some dark liquid. For a second, Tony was scared it was blood, since it had a red-ish tint, but as he got closer, the red tint turned into a brown tint.

The pair flew over top of that and on through the park. About thirty seconds later, the Pegasus stopped over top of a pond. Percy pulled himself off of the creature's back and fell silently into the small body of water. The black Pegasus landed on the edge of the pond and stretched out, before laying down, as if to take a nap.

Tony landed in the cover of the trees, walking to the edge of the pond to gaze down in, on the opposite side of the mythical creature. The boy was laying at the bottom of the pond. Blood had began to tint the water, floating in it like some kind of red smoke. The Pegasus snorted a warning, its eyes locked on the metal man on the other side of the pond.

_"__Be careful what you do,"_ the creature seemed to say. Tony looked at it for a moment, before giving the slightest nod.

"I'm just gonna get him back to the surface, 'kay?" he said, moving to dive into the pond. He jumped to dive, but was sent flying by a heavy weight slamming into him. The Pegasus glared at him from its spot over the water, where he'd been seconds before. It neighed angrily, pawing at ground that wasn't there. Tony stood and backed up slowly, trying to refrain from angering the creature once more. The Pegasus stared at him intensely for a moment, before landing on the same side of the pond as he stood on. It shuffled uncertainly, turning its head to gaze all around the pond, before it snorted angrily, once more taking flight. It dove at something on the other side of the pond. It smashed into something and neighed angrily, rearing on its hind legs.

"Impressive," an all too familiar voice said as a tall man with slick black hair and gray-green eyes appeared.

* * *

Nico stepped out of the shadow of the tree, looking around in the growing darkness. Already, nearly everyone was there. Annabeth, Thalia, Leo, Piper, Grover, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Clarrisse and a few others looked at the son of Hades when he stepped into the clearing.

"You all know why we're here," he said. "And I don't know about you, but I'm not just gonna leave Percy in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D." A growl of approval rose from some of the Ares campers who stood nearby.

"Percy's as much a part of the Roman camp as he is of the Greek, and I don't intend to let him stay missing!" Frank growled. "As one of the Praetors of the Twelfth Legion Fulmenta, I fully intend to help you regain our missing member."

"I agree. Percy maybe Greek, but he's a member of the Twelfth Legion, and no one gets away with messing with the Twelfth!" Reyna cried her agreement.

"Both Praetors have reached a consensus, and all the cabin leaders agree," Clarrisse smirked. "S.H.I.E.L.D has asked for war, so let's go give it to them. Let's go get Prissy back!" A roar rose from all the campers present in the woods. The trees nearly trembled at the force coming from the combined ranks of Greeks and Romans as they shouted they vengeance into the night sky.

**AN: And that's a wrap. Poor Percy, getting shot. I thought I did a really good job with a lot of those cliffies. I know, I know "RAD you just gave a cliffy, what's with all the new ones?!" The answer is, I couldn't help it. Yes, I know you'll all be mad at me, but try to be patient all will be explained with time. And now to answer reviews. (Note, if you reviewed as a guest and don't know which response is to you, look at the reviews, I'm answering these from the bottom of the reviews to the top, oldest to newest. You could start putting some name in the name line just to use as a place holder so I know which Guest. Thanks!)**

**Guest Reviews:**

**JarvisAI: I know, I know, it really was uncalled for, but I didn't have any more time to keep writing, and my muse was encouraging me to end there, so I did. Blame him, no me. I think this chapter proves that you gave me a little too much encouragement to continue with the 'good work'. Is this enough cliffies for you? LOL! 3**

**Guest: Sorry, but now you have an update!**

**Guest: I did update soon! Yay!**

**Guest: I hope you did survive. It would be very sad if one of my reviews died. I'm glad you liked it. **

**Fluffyteddybear: I hope your brain didn't implode since I updated within a month. If it did, know in the underworld that tried I to save you. I'm a huge Nico fan too! Sorry, no interrogation just yet. May add some later though, not too sure yet. Thanks for the encouragement!**

**Guest: I heard you, and did update soon! Wahoo!**

**Actual Users**

**monkeybaby: Thanks for understanding. It's sad when you try to explain something, and people are all like "That's not okay!" I was really glad that you and a bunch of others were just like "sure, okay!" **

**Theia-The-Planet: Yaaaayyy! Updated!**

**Saphira Nograd: You don't need to miss me any more, for I have returned! **

**Protagonist of Life: Sorry, no big reveal just yet, but I hope the twists have been enough for you until I update again.**

**Starlilly Rose: Yes indeed, now that Leo has joined the party, things have begun to heat up! ;) I'm so glad you think so! I can't tell you how much I appreciate being told things that I'm doing well, (and not so well but whatev.) (Look at bottom for reward)**

**frejane: I thought it was getting excited too! Sorry, I'm not trying to be as bad as Rick. You should blame my muse, he made me do it.**

**AjSummer: I read your review, so I understand why you had to scream at me, but I won't feel complete unless I reply UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED!**

**Fireflames2018: I'm glad you like it! Welcome aboard this crazy train of a story!**

**Glossette: Thanks so much!**

**Young Writer Author: I don't intend to abandon my first story! That would just be cruel, heartless and Ruthless (lol). Yes, I will keep writing for a while. **

**MusicMyEscape-DemiGodSlytherin: I'm glad you liked the idea! I did too ;) I hope you like how I'm writing it. There you go, now you may read more.**

**PercyJacksonDoctorWhoFanGirl: Well, first off, I like Doctor Who too! I haven't watched that much unfortunately, but I still like what I've seen! I did write the ninth chapter and I'm glad you like this so far!**

**avengerbrink: I did hurry up, but I hope it didn't effect the quality of the chapter, that would be sad. I hope you liked it!**

**And now I have responded to all 19 or so reviews. *sighes* that was a lot. And I realized I over use exclamation points in my ANs. Oh well. Question, Is Blackjack a boy or a girl? Cause in The Sea of Monsters they refer to him/her as a mare (which would be a girl) and then later they refer to him as a boy saying things like "he said" or "he replied". Anywho, hope ya'll liked it! **

**- RADyo**


	11. Author's note

**Okay, so I know y'all are expecting an update, and I swear I'm trying to get one up, but my life has been crazy. I just wanted to let y'all know my excuses... er... reasons **(I feel like they're excuses, even though everyone tells me they are legit)** for being so late with my update.**

**1) I got the most severe case of writers block I have ever had.**

**2) I broke my hand and typing one handed isn't as easy as it sounds.**

**I really, really hope to post again before Sep 6th. I'm really, really, really sorry for those of you who are dying out there because you're ticked at me. I've been there, I know the feeling. You should really thank one of my muses right now. He kicked me in the bum (figuratively & literally) and told me to send out an Author's Note. Once I get my chap up, I'll take this down.**

**Again, sorry!**

**-RADyo**


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